Through a dark mirror
by TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne
Summary: The Titans capture a mysterious device from the Brotherhood of Evil. While Cyborg tries to figure out what it does a strange accident happens. Complete. Moving story to M section.
1. Chapter 1

Beast Boy was pacing around the Tower's basement, grumbling as he walked back and forth along the wall underneath the staircase. The fluorescent lights hummed at an unnatural frequency, adding to his annoyance as Cyborg came trotting down the stairs, carrying a strange looking device, which he put down next to several other odd looking contraptions.

"Dude! This is a bad idea!"

The bionic boy barely acknowledged the changeling's presence.

"Whadya say B?" He replied absentmindedly as he began to connect the various modules with a variety of thick and heavy cables.

"This is dangerous Cy! We don't even know what these things are."

"You might not know what they are grass stain, but I do."

"Then would you mind telling us Cyborg." Raven interrupted as she came gliding down the stairs.

Well, if you must know…" He began to explain, pointing at the first of over a dozen modular components he had lined up against the basements single bare wall. "…this is a Heisenberg uncertainty modulator, that's a temporal bifurcator, this one's a spatial resonator and this one, well I'm not sure what this one is, but I'll figure it out." He said as he pointed at a strange looking module that appeared to be made of crystal and was shaped like a pyramid.

"Dude! You're playing with fire." Beast Boy groaned. The strange components that Cyborg was assembling in the basement were the spoils of a victory over the Brotherhood of Evil. The Titans had been hot on the trail of the masterminds of evil for several months and every time they were close to capturing the Brain and his cohorts they always seemed to escape as if by magic. The only thing the Titans ever found were the ruined remains of modules that bore a striking resemblance to the undamaged ones Cyborg was assembling in the basement.

"I know what I'm doing B." The tin man replied.

"We should get the Doom Patrol to help us with this Cy. They know what the Brotherhood's tech is like."

"I don't need their help grass stain." Cyborg snapped at the changeling as he headed towards the stairs.

"Beast Boy's right Cyborg, we should consult with the Doom Patrol on this." Raven interjected.

Cyborg spun around. "I don't need their help. Plus if they come they're gonna wanna keep everything and there's no way I'm letting that happen. And since when do you ever agree with the green bean, Raven?"

The sorceress snapped a reply right back at him.

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day, so don't get any ideas, OK?" She hissed as the changeling's ears drooped.

"Who's getting any ideas?" He replied in a sing song voice as he walked up the stairs. Soon enough he was out of the basement.

Raven turned to Beast Boy.

"Sorry about that Gar, that was a bit harsh. I'll make it up to you." She told him. Raven had felt the wave of pain and hurt emanate from him after she spit out her venomous put down.

"It's OK Rae, I know we have to keep up appearances." He replied. The chromatically challenged pair had become a couple in secret about 5 weeks before. Raven had made the secrecy a condition of their relationship and she was beginning to worry as she saw the toll it was taking on Beast Boy. She had told him that in public she would treat him as she always had, which meant that she would be rude and cruel to him. She was overdoing it though and Beast Boy was beginning to wonder if it was worth it. She wasn't even that good of a kisser, not that they kissed all that much. The only reason they were still together was that Beast Boy was afraid of dumping her and was beginning to hope that she would soon dump him instead.

"I mean it Gar, I'm sorry."

"I know, I know." He replied in a flat voice. He then summoned all his courage.

"Rae, I've been thinking that maybe…"

Before Beast Boy could finish his speech the sound of footsteps was heard coming down the stairs.

"What is it Gar?" She asked in a worried tone, having sensed his anxiety.

"Nothing, it can wait." He replied, relieved to have been saved by the bell. He knew he had to dump her, but was glad he could postpone that unpleasant moment.

Starfire, Robin and Cyborg were carrying the final modules down to the basement and placed them on the floor next to the other modules. Cyborg began to connect them as he had done with the others. Once he was done he hooked up a laptop computer to the largest module and began to type away. As he did this various lights began to flash on the different modules. The pyramid shaped unit began to glow an eerie orange color.

Raven turned to Robin.

"Are you sure this is safe? We don't even know what this device is."

"Relax Raven, Cy knows what he's doing. And we do know what it is, it's a teleportation device. The Brotherhood has been using similar devices to escape capture in the past. We got lucky this time because the self destruct malfunctioned."

"Doesn't that strike you as awfully convenient?" The sorceress asked.

"I have personally inspected each module Raven." Starfire interrupted. "And I have not detected as single one of what you call a booby trap in the modules."

Beast Boy crossed his arms. "I don't know Star, the Brain and Mallah are pretty tricky. I can't imagine that they wouldn't want to pull one on us…"

Cyborg interrupted them.

"Diagnostics are complete! All subsystems are operating within their specified parameters. I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to take this baby out for a spin!"

Cyborg began to tap furiously at the oversize keyboard his laptop had while Raven and Beast Boy watched with worried eyes. LEDs and other lights lit up on the modules and began to flash at an increasingly quick rate. The pyramid shaped module began to glow even brighter and changed colors.

Cyborg remained fixated on his laptop screen, mumbling things like "that's odd".

Raven and Beast Boy continued to watch as the pyramid began to glow brighter and brighter while it began to hum rather alarmingly. Beast Boy then noticed a look of panic on Cyborg's face.

"This thing seems to have a mind of its own! Everybody get out while I try to shut it down!"

Cyborg's warning came too late as it was clear that an energy surge was forming in the pyramid. With no warning it discharged in Raven's direction. Beast Boy, guided by his animal instincts, pushed Raven out of harm's way, receiving the brunt of the strange energy emanating from the crystal pyramid.

The changeling screamed in pain as he clutched his temples with his hands, falling to his knees in the process. Raven stared in abject horror as the energy field intensified, engulfing Beast Boy's body. As she watched his body became transparent and she could see his skeleton and internal organs.

Starfire ran to Cyborg's side in a vain attempt to assist him. "Friend Beast Boy is disintegrating! We must help him!" She shouted.

"Cyborg!" Raven screamed in panic. "Can't you stop this thing?"

Starfire turned around to face her gray friend. "It is too late to stop the process Raven; if we do Beast Boy will die. We must find a way to reverse what is happening!"

Raven's heart sank into the pit of her stomach. How could they possibly reverse the process? Tears ran down her cheeks as the grim reality of the situation hit her: Gar was going to die while she watched. By this point all that was left of him within the energy field was his skeleton and that too was beginning to dissolve. She fell to her knees and closed her eyes.

_Goodbye Gar, I'll never forget you, I promise._

As she reopened her eyes all that was left was the energy field. Raven winced in pain. Part of her had just died with Beast Boy. She remained on her knees and dropped her head. Several tube shaped fluorescent lights exploded in the distance. She had never felt so numb her entire life and at that moment she wasn't sure the numbness would ever go away.

As Raven continued to grieve her loss she heard Cyborg speak up.

"Hey! I think I got it!" He yelled as he continued to pound on the keyboard while Starfire made mysterious adjustments to the modules.

"Friend Cyborg! It is working! Look!" Starfire exclaimed.

Raven opened her eyes and saw a skeleton begin to reform itself inside of the energy field. Her heart leaped with hope. As she continued to watch she saw his organs reappear and soon his body was no longer transparent. Raven held her breath and felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Robin.

"I think he's going to make it Raven, I really do!" He spoke, his voice brimming with hope.

Soon enough the energy became weaker and Beast Boy's figure, now a silhouette against the bright energy field, slumped over and fell to the ground. Raven tried to bolt towards him but Robin held her back. She turned and glared at him.

"Just a moment Raven." Starfire commanded her. "We must wait for the energy field to subside. Then you will be able to tend to your beloved."

Raven did a double take at the Tamaranian. Robin was still beside her and gave her a reassuring rub on her shoulder.

"We know Raven, we all know." He told her.

While it only took a few minutes for the energy field to disappear it felt like an eternity to the sorceress. Soon enough Cyborg gave the all clear signal and Robin released her. She bolted to Beast Boy's side, and he began to sit up as soon as she reached him.

It was then that Raven noticed that something was wrong. Beast Boy wasn't wearing his Doom Patrol costume; he was wearing a strange looking black outfit that appeared to be made of leather. His head was shaved and was covered with strange and sinister tattoos, some of which she recognized as the glyphs that had appeared on her own body when she became the portal. He also wasn't green. The teen opened his eyes and rubbing his temples he sat up. It was then that Raven felt as if she had been smacked on the side of her head with a 2 by 4. She gasped as she felt pure and utter evil emanate from the boy. She recoiled from him and dashed away, running into Starfire.

"Raven, what is wrong? Is friend Beast Boy injured?"

Raven was barely able to speak and summoning all her will power she croaked out a reply.

"That isn't Garfield."

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Beast Boy moaned as he regained consciousness. His head felt like it was about to explode from the pain which thankfully was beginning to subside. The pain had been so intense that it blinded and deafened him. He remained on the floor, in a fetal position as he panted. His sense of smell was the only one that worked at the moment and from what his olfactory organs told him something was off.

The next sense to return to the changeling was his sense of hearing. He felt reassured as he discerned familiar voices that were engaged in a still unintelligible conversation: Cyborg, Robin, Raven and … Blackfire? Suddenly the conversation became intelligible to him.

"See Raptor, I told you he would be fine." Cyborg announced. Beast Boy thought the tin man's voice sounded odd, almost off key. He figured it was a side effect of the concussion he was sure he had.

"No thanks to you idiots!" Raven snarled back in reply. Beast Boy let out a sigh of relief, the energy discharge had not hit her.

"Relax Raptor. My sensors show that he's fine. Other than a head splitting headache nothing's wrong with him." Cyborg replied.

_Who's Raptor?_ Beast Boy wondered to himself. He blinked a few times and noticed that he could see again.

"Don't you tell me to relax! You almost killed him!" Raven hissed in reply. "He almost died."

At this point Beast Boy sat up. He noticed that a bright energy field still surrounded him. All he could see of his friends were silhouettes. He opened him mouth to speak but no sound came out. He remained in his sitting position on the floor.

"Wait Raptor." Blackfire's voice spoke. "You have to wait until the energy field is gone. Then you can have your boy toy back."

Beast Boy continued to stare at the shrouded figures.

_Dude, I really must have got zapped good, Star sounds just like her sister._

After two more minutes the energy field was gone. Now finally able to see his friends, Beast Boy stared incredulously at the sight before him. Cyborg's tech was gray colored instead of blue and he had thermal blasters built into both of his arms. Robin was dressed in black and had a large scar on his face and Blackfire, and yes it was Blackfire, was draped seductively over him. But what clearly took his breath away was the gray skinned, violet haired girl who was running up to him. She was dressed in what looked like a slave girl costume. She wore a black bra that hardly covered her cleavage and she was wearing a loincloth and from her exposed hips it was obvious she was wearing nothing else underneath it. As she approached him she frowned.

"Who the hell are you?" She barked at him. "What have you done with my lover?"

Without getting up Beast Boy scooted away from the strange looking Raven. He did a crab crawl until he bumped into the wall behind him.

"I asked you a question." She snarled. "What did you do with him?"

The changeling continued to stare at his girlfriend's doppelganger.

"I didn't do anything to him." He squeaked. "I don't even know who he is."

Cyborg approached Raven and cleared his throat.

"I have some bad news Raptor."

"Bad? What do you mean by 'bad news'? Explain yourself you walking scrap heap! You said this would be safe!"

Cyborg sighed."Believe it or not, this is Garfield."

"Are you insane? He's green for Trigon's sake!"

Cyborg examined a panel in his arm.

"It's him alright. He even has that wacky animal DNA."

"So why is he green? Did your stupid experiment change him? If he's damaged there's gonna be hell to pay."

Cyborg continued to study his scanner.

"Whoa! This can't be right!"

"What is it Vic?" The black clad youth asked.

"You're not gonna believe this Nightwing, but his quantum signature doesn't match ours."

Nightwing slammed his fist on the table.

"You mean he's from another dimension?" Raptor asked.

Cyborg nodded his head.

"Well then, send him back and bring my Gar home."

Cyborg shook his head.

"No can do. Right after he materialized the system did a reset, a cold boot. The memory was wiped clean. I don't know what dimension he came from."

Beast Boy saw Raptor ball her fists. Her jaw began to tremble. Then with no warning she regained her composure and relaxed, and turned towards him.

"What's your name, your real name?" She asked him.

Beast Boy gulped before replying.

"Garfield Mark Logan."

The girl who looked like his sweetheart gave him a sinister grin.

"Well Garfield, today is your lucky day. You get to take my Gar's place as my lover."

"Your lover?" Beast Boy choked.

Blackfire laughed.

"You are a lucky bitch Raptor! He's still a virgin!"

Raptor got close enough to Beast Boy so that when she crouched they were face to face. Beast Boy looked panic stricken.

"Are you a virgin?" She asked him.

The green boy nodded with a petrified look on his face.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'll be gentle with you." She teased him.

She stood up in front of him and noticed that he was staring at her bare hips.

"Don't worry Gar; we're going to be good friends. And I can be very generous, this is for you."

Raptor grabbed her loin cloth and raised it, exposing her womanhood to the petrified changeling, who went bug eyed.

The other 3 "Titans" began to laugh and were joined by Raptor who lowered her loincloth as she continued to laugh.

Beast Boy finally summoned the courage to ask them a question.

"Who are you guys?"

Raptor grinned at him. He felt a chill run down his spine. This girl looked just like Raven, but she was an entirely different person.

"You mean you don't know?" She replied.

He shook his head.

"We're the Hive 5." Blackfire replied.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

I'm kind of stuck with my other story "Joker's Shadow", so while I figure out how to finish that story I decided to start another one.

Anyway, I hope I can keep your interest with this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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A pair of hands danced over the keyboard, their agile and skilled fingers clicking away at a furious pace. Their owner's face frowned as a deluge of cryptic information scrolled up the screen.

"Crud munchers!" He cursed as he continued to type. A pink haired girl approached the console and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it Gizmo?"

"I'm not sure. I think there was some sort of spatial distortion."

"You mean like a portal?"

He shook his head as Mammoth and See-More joined them.

"More like a discharge. There was a massive energy surge which was followed by a brief ripple in the space time continuum."

The room's sliding doors opened, revealing a female figure that walked in. She was thin and blond and once she was in the room she addressed the group.

"Did you get a fix on it?"

Gizmo shrugged. "The surge was so strong that it fried the sensors before I triangulate its position."

"Bummer." Terra replied. "So for now it's a false alarm. Get those sensors repaired Gizmo, this time with something more durable. Maybe it'll happen again."

"I'm a step ahead of you boss. I already dispatched the repair droids."

"Thanks Gizmo. OK everyone, take five…"

Before Terra could finish her sentence an alarm began to blare.

"What is it now?"

Gizmo's fingers continued to dance across the keyboard.

"It's a bank robbery … on the corner of 3rd and Market Street … It's Dr. Light." He replied.

Terra raised her head and looked at her teammates.

"OK you guys, you know the drill. Titans Go!" She shouted as they made their way out of the iconic T shaped tower.

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The boy with the shaven head looked around with a look of confusion on his face. He first locked eyes with Cyborg, noticing the color of his tech components. His eyes were drawn next to Robin and he suppressed a laugh upon seeing him. The look of confusion returned when he saw Starfire. Finally he located Raven and a sly grin appeared on his face. The sorceress was standing behind Starfire and she had an alarmed expression.

The bald youth stood up and faced the Titans, his hands on his hips while he adopted a confident if not cocky posture. He continued to stare at Raven.

"Yo Raptor, what's with the hood and cape and what's this?" He asked as he pointed at her leotard. "Are you going swimming or something?"

Cyborg enabled both of his sonic cannons and aimed them at the boy.

"Don't make any sudden moves." The tin man warned the teen in steely voice.

"Very funny Vic. First you almost kill me with that stupid junk you stole from the Doom Patrol and now this?" He then turned to Robin. "And what's with the traffic light suit. I thought you ditched that when you double crossed the Bat! And what's she doing here? Where's Blackfire?"

"You heard Cyborg! Don't make any sudden moves."

The bald teen scowled at the Titans.

"What the frak's your problem Dick?" He growled as he saw that the four teens were beginning to surround him.

"On your knees, with your hands behind your head." Robin barked at him. "And don't try anything."

The stranger complied and dropped to his knees. As he did he locked eyes with Raven.

"C'mon Raptor, you still aren't pissed with me, are you? Just because I flirted with that girl doesn't mean I don't love you."

Raven replied with clenched teeth.

"Shut up you idiot! I'm not who you think I am!"

"What are you talking about?"

Cyborg stepped forward, both of his cannons still targeting the fair skinned boy.

"There was an accident, an interdimensional accident that somehow swapped one of our guys for you."

"You're shitting me." The shaven headed kid replied. "No fraking way."

Robin spoke up.

"Who are you?" He asked the stranger.

The young man laughed. "You mean you don't know?"

"Should we?"

The youth continued to laugh. "You really are clueless. I'm Garfield Logan, but you can call me The Beast!"

Starfire gasped and drew the boy's attention.

"I've never met you. You must be Starfire. You really are the naïve lost puppy your sister says you are."

Raven lost it.

"Shut your mouth, you stupid idiot!"

"I like it when you get angry Raptor. We always had the best sex after you got pissed off at something, even me." He grinned wickedly.

Suddenly the sound of a single star bolt was heard and the 'The Beast' slumped over unconscious.

"You will not insult my friend Raven!" The princess roared, extra star bolts ready in her hands.

Robin approached the boy and checked him.

"He's fine. Good job star, who knows what powers this guy has. Cy, take him to the containment cell."

Cyborg's sonic cannons transformed back into his bionic hands as he approached the unconscious youth.

"So this is BB's counterpart. Now that I look at him more closely I see the resemblance."

Raven cleared her throat.

"Can't we just swap them back?" She asked.

Cyborg looked away from the gray sorceress.

"I have bad news Raven. Something happened to the system, a glitch. Its memory became corrupted and after rebooting it wiped it clean. The machine doesn't remember which dimension he came from, and as you all know there are an infinite number of dimensions…"

Raven shrieked at the top of her lungs as every light bulb in the basement exploded. Cyborg immediately turned on the flashlight that was built into his shoulder.

"You idiot! You wouldn't listen to reason, you damn hot shot! Now Gar's lost forever!"

Raven fell to her knees and began to weep.

"I'll never see him again." She sobbed quietly.

"Actually, that's not true Raven. I can read the quantum signature on this guy and that should help narrow the search."

Raven looked up and locked eyes with him.

"Are you sure? So we will get him back?" She replied, her voice full of hope.

Starfire approached her and hugged her.

"What Cyborg says it true. But it will mean that there will be thousands of dimensions to search through. It will no longer be an impossible task Raven, but it will remain a difficult one. It will probably take at least a year to find him."

Raven turned and glared at the tin man.

"If you find him quickly your punishment might not be so severe." She snarled as her demonic eyes glowed a bright red before reverting to her normal amethyst color.

Cyborg gulped. "I'll start right away Raven." He picked up Beast Boy's "twin".

"I'll lock him up. But what do we do with him? The Tower isn't a jail."

Robin frowned. "I'll call Batman. Maybe they can take him at Arkham asylum.

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"You can't be the Hive 5!" Beast Boy gasped.

"Why not?" Blackfire replied. "We all studied under Brother Blood at his academy and even graduated. Well, everyone except Raptor, she's an honorary graduate."

Cyborg chuckled. "That's right. Would you believe that she used to be a Teen Titan?"

Beast Boy's mouth fell open wide.

Raptor smiled as she sat down on a chair.

"It's true. I was, very briefly, a Teen Titan."

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked, fearing the answer she would give.

She locked eyes with the changeling.

"I double crossed them. I became Slade's apprentice."

"No." He replied breathlessly. "What happened after that?"

"I betrayed Slade and killed him. I used his possessions to start the Hive-5. This base we're in, it used to be Slade's lair."

A chill ran down Beast Boy's spine. Terra had killed Slade in his dimension, but that had been in the heat of battle. This … was different. Raptor had murdered Slade just to steal his property. It was then that he realized that he was walking on ice, very thin ice.

"Don't worry handsome." She continued, as if she had read his mind. "Nothing is going to happen to your sexy green body."

Beast Boy's eyes grew wide as he understood the unspoken context of her remark. She laughed at his fearful expression.

"Victor, lock him up in the containment cell. I would hate for my prize to escape."

As Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy he aimed one of his thermal blasters at him.

"Don't get any ideas punk. I'll waste you before you even begin to transform."

Beast Boy looked up at him.

"So who are the Titans?" He asked.

Cyborg snorted derisively at him.

"If you think they can help you, think again. All they know is that you're one of us. So you can forget about escaping, cuz they'll just throw your sorry green butt into jail."

Beast Boy dropped his head and let the evil version of his friend lead him to the cell. Cyborg punched a button and the force field disappeared, after which he shoved Beast Boy into the cell. He punched the button a second time and the force field returned.

"If I was you I'd be nice to Raptor. That is if you want to eat. Of course if you're really nice to her you might even get laid." Victor chucked as he walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Beast Boy surveyed the cell. Other than a toilet and a sink it was empty. He thought of escaping down the sink but when he tried to morph he wasn't able to. The cell had some kind of power cancelling technology in it. Resigned to his immediate fate he let himself down to lay on the hard floor. He suddenly felt very tired and was soon asleep.

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"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos, Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos …"

Raven's mantra was interrupted by the knock on her door. She was tempted to ignore whoever was on the other side but another louder knock followed. She reached out with her senses and detected who her unwanted visitor was. She sighed as she lowered herself from her levitating position, stretching her legs out as floated down to her bed.

There was another knock, and she swore she could hear the impatience in it. Wasn't it obvious she thought, that after all that had happened that day that she would want to be alone? She had lost her boyfriend to the infinity of the dimensions and the cosmos had vomited up that monster as his replacement. There was yet another knock. She sighed before answering.

"Come in, it isn't locked."

She looked away as the door slid open, revealing Cyborg's and Starfire's contrite figures. They entered quietly, as if they were afraid of disturbing her, which they were.

"What do you want?" Raven asked in an accusatory tone.

Starfire stepped forward. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"We bring you the apologies Raven." She replied meekly.

Raven spun around and snarled at them.

"I don't want apologies! I want my Gar back!"

Cyborg stepped in.

"Yeah, well, that's what we came to talk with you about Raven." He said in a contrite voice.

"So I take that you have a plan." She growled.

"Yes, friend Raven, we do." Starfire answered.

Raven stood up with her hands on her hips. Her face betrayed no emotion that a layperson would have noticed, but the Tamaranian and the half robot had lived with the sorceress for enough years to see that was excited.

"Well?"

"Before we tell you the plan, we just want you to know that we're really sorry we didn't listen to you, and it won't ever happen again."

"Yes friend Raven. Cyborg and I, we were 'caught up in the moment' as we experimented with the machine."

"Yes, Starfire, I understand. But right now the only thing I want to hear is when Gar is coming home."

Cyborg sighed quietly before replying.

"Probably no more than three months, but it could be as long as six."

Raven frowned.

"That's unacceptable. Who knows what peril he's in right now?"

"What do mean Raven? For all we know he's basking in sun surrounded by fangirls."

Raven exploded.

"Are you stupid, or do you just pretend to be an idiot?"

"Now just a minute…" Cyborg replied indignantly.

"NO! You listen! Did you take a good look at that monster that came back in his place?"

"Well yeah, he's a creep, so what?"

"He's more than a creep. I could feel the pure evil that oozed out of him. And he knew us. Do you know what that means?"

Cyborg's and Starfire's eyes became wide as they realized the implications of Raven's remark.

"I see you understand. It's almost certain that our counterparts in that dimension are also evil and Gar is trapped with them!"

Starfire spoke up.

"Raven, we are doing everything we can. I have contacted Tamaran and the Royal Academy of Science is already helping us. But I am afraid that this is the best we can do. We must be patient."

Raven turned away and began to cry. Starfire ran to her side and embraced her.

"We will find your beloved my friend, and he will be unharmed, that I promise you."

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Beast Boy heard a door open and lifted his head. As the door to the chamber slid open it revealed Raptor's semi-clad figure. She wore her violet hair long, the way Raven did when she defeated Trigon. Of course that is where the similarities ended. She was wearing her slave girl outfit and wore leather sandals on her feet. She walked with a provocative swagger and Beast Boy noticed he was having a hard time not staring at her very exposed hips.

She was carrying a tray with food. According to the clock that was built into his communicator it had been three days since they threw him into the cell and he was starving. Raptor deactivated the force field and entered his cell. By this point he was standing and she handed the tray to him.

"You must be very hungry."

"Ya think so?" He replied as he examined the contents in the tray. He frowned at the main course, a grilled steak.

"This was Gar's favorite meal." She told him.

"I don't eat meat." He replied curtly as he wolfed down the vegetables and the baked potato on the tray.

"Solidarity with the animals?" She asked. "Gar had no problem eating meat; he said that animals eat each other, so why shouldn't he eat them?"

"Whatever." He replied as he sat down on the floor.

"You know I can make life a lot easier for you?" She replied. "You don't have to sleep on the floor."

He stared at her but didn't reply.

"Don't you have anything to say?" She asked.

He paused for a moment before replying.

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Ask."

He gave her a look of disgust before continuing.

"Why do you dress like a whore?"

Raptor laughed out loud.

"Let me guess, Steve and Rita instilled in you good old fashioned traditional values?"

"Maybe they did." He replied. "It looks like the monks of Azarath didn't do that with you."

Raptor laughed. "Oh they tried, but I wasn't buying any of it."

Beast Boy locked eyes with her.

"That's too bad."

Raptor stepped away from him and spun around on the ball of her foot. As she did she was enveloped in her own dark energy, which after a few seconds faded away. She was now dressed in the attire that Beast Boy associated with the daughter of Trigon: a black leotard, and a blue cape and hood. She even had the blue boots.

"Is this more to your liking Gar?"

The changeling frowned.

"You aren't Raven."

She smiled back at him.

"Oh, but I am. I was Raven when I was a Titan. Terra didn't trust me but only let me join the team because the others begged her. She shouldn't have listened to them."

Beast Boy looked astonished.

"You mean Terra is the Titan's leader?"

"Sure thing handsome. Let me guess, she was an evil villain back home. Am I right?"

Beast Boy shook his head.

"No, she wasn't evil, just confused."

"I'll bet she was. So are you still hungry?"

"Yeah, I am."

"If you kiss me I'll bring you some more food."

Beast Boy gave her an incredulous look.

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not. And I won't bring you anything more unless you kiss me."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes before leaning over and pecking Raptor on the cheek.

"Bzzzt! Wrong!"

"What?" He replied. "I kissed you."

"You have to kiss me on the lips handsome."

Beast Boy didn't like where this was going. Next thing he knew she would demand sex for food. Would she really let him starve? He wondered.

"No dice." He replied.

"Suit yourself green bean."

Beast Boy growled at her.

"Raven never calls me that."

She smiled back at him.

"This Raven does!" She said as she stepped out of the cell and switched the force field back on. "If you change your mind, just page me using the intercom."

Beast Boy watched her walk away.

_Great! She left the steak here! Maybe I can cut it up and flush it down the toilet._

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Thanks to those who have reviewed this story. I guess we're off to a slow start with hits and reviews, but I can be patient!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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It had been three whole days since the incident but it already felt like three years to Raven. She was sitting cross legged on top of her bed and the expression on her face was stricken. It wasn't the usual blank mask she always wore. This time her face betrayed the fear and anxiety she was feeling. Robin had noticed this and decided to place her on medical leave. There had only been a single mission since Beast Boy had been replaced by the fair skinned psychopath that had his face and his morphing powers. This was fortunate as Raven had only been able to sleep a few scant hours during that time and was in no shape to face any villains, even if they were only run of the mill bank robbers. In any case Robin, Starfire and Cyborg had been able to dispatch the robbers with minimal effort.

Raven sighed, feeling the wave of melancholy overwhelm her. She turned to the picture frame on her nightstand. Starfire had given it to her yesterday. It had an impromptu picture of Raven and Beast Boy, taken during a team outing over a year ago. Beast Boy had actually cracked a funny joke, at Dr. Light's expense, and the two chromatically challenged Titans were smiling. Even thought the picture had been taken far before they became romantically involved she was overwhelmed when Starfire gave it to her. The folly of her desire for secrecy had fully registered with her, as she realized that she didn't have a single photograph of her and Garfield together as a couple.

_I'm such an idiot._

Raven opened her eyes and looked around her room. It was its usual over the top spooky self, decorated with bizarre artifacts. Even her bed had a looming headboard that resembled her hood. She lifted herself out of the bed and walked over to the curtains, which were closed. Using her dark energy she parted them, allowing the late afternoon sunlight to enter. As she turned around she saw her room's décor and decided that it was time for a change.

_When Gar comes home I'm going to ask him to move in with me, but he has to feel comfortable here._

Raven walked to her closet and after rummaging for a few minutes she emerged with a few empty cardboard boxes, which she immediately began to pack with her creepiest possessions. She made a mental note to ask Cyborg to purchase some conventional furniture for her room.

She soon filled the 3 boxes. It was then that she realized this was going to be a major effort and that she would need many more boxes. She taped the three boxes shut and wrote her name on them with a sharpie, after which she teleported herself and the boxes to the basement.

As her black hemisphere faded away the first thing she saw was Starfire and Cyborg working diligently on the mysterious machine that was the source of her heartache.

"Yo Raven." Cyborg greeted her. "We haven't found anything yet."

"I know." She replied. "I was just bringing these boxes down here." She said as she made a gesture with her hand, sending the three boxes to resting places on some metal shelves Cyborg had setup for storage.

"Are you doing the 'Spring Cleaning' Raven?" Starfire asked.

"No, more like a makeover."

"A makeover?" Cyborg asked.

She nodded. "I think it's time to make my room less spooky."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Cyborg, I want a new bed. Maybe something more modern looking."

He nodded. "Sure, I'll get to it later tonight. Do you want a new mattress too?"

She turned away before replying.

"I do, preferably a king sized one."

Cyborg looked at Starfire, who nodded back at him.

"Sure thing Raven. Say, could you do me a favor?"

Raven turned around.

"Sure."

"Would you mind feeding the prisoner? We're into something here and really don't want to stop right now. Robin's gone; otherwise I would ask him…"

"It's OK Cyborg, I'll make him something."

"Thanks Raven."

Raven nodded and phasing into the floor she disappeared.

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The heavy doors that guarded the detention center in the Tower slowly slid open, rousing the sole occupant of the high security prison section of the Titans' headquarters. The fair skinned youth was beginning to show some growth on his scalp as the blond colored fuzz began to appear on his head. As he rubbed his eyes he recognized his visitor.

"So you finally came to see me, baby." He taunted her.

"I'm only here because no one else was available to feed you."

"I'll bet you say that the all the good looking changelings."

Raven rolled her eyes as she slipped the tray into the food "airlock". The blond boy grinned as he leaped off his bed and ran to get his meal.

"Hey! What the hell is this?" He complained as he examined the tray's contents.

Raven looked him in the eyes.

"They're tofu hotdogs." She deadpanned.

"I'm not eating that crap. I want something else. How about you go back and get me a steak?"

"This isn't a restaurant, in case you haven't noticed."

He grinned at her. She found it strangely unnerving as she could feel a sudden burst of lust emit from his mind.

"You aren't making any points with me, slime ball." She added.

He laughed before replying.

"Listen babe, I KNOW what you like, and I can give it to you."

Raven scowled at him.

"You might know what my counterpart in your universe likes, but I can assure you that I'm nothing like her."

He gave her a very sly smile before answering.

"You mean because you're a 'good girl' Raven? Because you're a hero? Well maybe you are a goodie two shoes, but you're still half woman, half demon, and that part is the same whether here or there."

"Rubbish." She replied.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me you've never fantasized having a roll in the hay with him? You know you have. You might still be a sweet little virgin Raven, but you want him and you want him bad!"

Raven turned around with an indignant air and began to march out of the room. Just as the sliding doors opened he called out to her.

"There is another thing about you that's different from Raptor!"

Without turning around she replied.

"OK, I'll bite. Tell me."

He paused before replying, sitting on his bed.

"She isn't repressed like you." He laughed.

Raven hit the button on the wall and the door slammed shut.

_When is he leaving for Arkham?_

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Beast Boy was staring at the sliding doors from his cell when with no warning they slid open, revealing Raptor's figure. It had only been a day since she asked him to kiss her. She was still dressed like Raven and had now cut her hair into Raven's signature A-line. He gazed at her with a disinterested air.

"Good morning." She greeted him.

"I won't kiss you." He replied defiantly.

She shut down the force field and entered his cell.

"I can do worse things to you than starve you, you do know that?"

"I do. Go ahead, do your worst."

Raptor morphed into terrifying demon, towering over Beast Boy, who didn't betray a reaction, even as her dark tendrils wrapped themselves around his body. He initially shuddered but regained his composure. He didn't know what to expect, so he mentally prepared himself for the worst case scenario: a prolonged and painful death. That was when the tendrils withdrew and Raptor morphed back into her humanoid form.

"I'm impressed. You aren't a coward like he is."

He gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

Raptor approached him and placed her hands on his hips.

"When I did the same thing to my Gar he folded, he agreed to do whatever I asked."

Beast Boy snorted.

"He sounds like your kind of guy."

"He was, but to be honest I tired of him. He has no substance; even the sex became dull after a while."

"What a shame. I guess you get what you pay for, huh?"

She smiled softly at him. "You're right." She then paused as she bit her lower lip, a familiar gesture he had seen another violet haired girl do when she felt vulnerable and uncertain. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Ya think? You threw me in a cell and starved me."

She smiled before replying. "You're so different from him. He's so full of bravado but when push comes to shove he always submits to me. You, you're different. Why?"

"I guess I've got nothing left to lose. I'm trapped in this crazy dimension where my friends are criminals and my enemies are superheroes. Your Cyborg is right, even if I could escape what could I do? As far as they're concerned I'm one of you guys. My life here is over."

She extended a hand to him.

"Come with me."

He gave her a look that expressed the complete and utter distrust he felt towards her. She felt it as well through her empathic powers.

"Please?"

Beast Boy sighed and did not take her hand.

"Fine, like I have a choice."

She led him out of the chamber and he immediately felt his powers return. He followed her down several hallways until she led him to a door. She punched in a code and the door slid open, revealing a very familiar room to him. The bed had a headboard that resembled her hood and he quickly recognized most of the creepy artifacts on the shelves and bookcases.

She walked up to a table and struck a match, which she used to light three candles on the small table, which was set elegantly for two people. She pulled a chair back a motioned for him to sit down. At first he hesitated but she gestured again.

"Won't you join me for dinner, Garfield?"

"No strings attached?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"None."

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders and accepted her offer, taking his seat. Raptor pushed an intercom button and spoke into its microphone.

"We're ready to eat."

Evil Cyborg replied. "It's ready; I'll send it right up."

Raptor then opened a small fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine, which she uncorked and served, filling both their glasses. He picked up the glass and sniffed it.

"Robin won't let us drink alcohol."

She smiled back.

"Good thing he's not here, right?"

Just then there was a knock on the door and Raptor opened it with a wave of her hand. Blackfire entered carrying a tray and placed the food before them: Two salads, two vegetarian soups, and a large terrine full of tofu parmesan. Beast Boy's stomach gave an audible growl as he smelled the food.

"Let me know when you're ready for dessert." Blackfire announced as she walked out the door, which slid shut behind her.

Beast Boy immediately asked her the obvious question.

"So what are you eating?"

She giggled.

"The same thing you are, silly."

Beast Boy looked surprised.

"But Raven hates tofu. I can't get her to eat it."

"Really, why not?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. She once told me 'I respect that you don't eat meat, please respect that I don't eat fake meat'"

"Interesting. Well, we'd better get started before it gets cold."

Beast Boy said nothing as he began to wolf down his dinner. He watched in astonishment as Raptor ate the tofu without complaining.

_She must really want me bad._

Soon the meal was consumed and Beast Boy was wondering what was coming next.

"Garfield, I want to talk with you about our predicament."

_Oh boy, I knew it. No strings attached my butt._

"What is there to talk about?"

"What are we going to do Garfield?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are we going to do with you? Do you want to spend the rest of your life in that cell?"

"Duh! No!"

"Good, because I don't want to keep you there either."

He gave her a skeptical look.

"You're not going to let me leave, are you?"

"You said yourself that there's nowhere for you to go, Gar."

"I'm not going to become a member of the Hive-5!"

"You don't have to. At least you don't have to go with us on our missions."

"So I stay behind and cook dinner, waiting for you to come home from robbing a bank? I'd still be your accomplice if I did that."

Raptor sighed.

"Gar, I just want to find a way to make things work out between us."

Beast Boy glared at her.

"YOU'RE NOT RAVEN DAMMIT! You're just a slut that looks like her, talks like her and even smells like her, but you're not her."

Raptor leaped to her feet.

"I'm not a slut!"

Beast Boy laughed.

"Really? I don't recall Raven ever flashing her privates at me."

Raptor stepped away from him.

"Listen Gar, he's the only lover I've ever had."

"And I'm not his replacement! Understand?"

Beast Boy felt a lump in his throat as he saw the look on her face before she turned away. At times she seemed just like Raven.

"I'm sorry." He said almost involuntarily. "Look, I miss Raven and I'm sure you miss him. But this can't work Raptor. It just can't work out."

He saw that she was crying. "But Gar, don't you understand? We're never going to see them again. We have to make it work."

Beast Boy rubbed his temples and groaned.

"Maybe it's time for me to go back to my cell."

Raptor dropped her head in defeat. She then pressed the intercom button again.

"Cyborg, put a bed in Garfield's cell."

"Right away." The reply echoed over the loudspeaker. She shut it off and turned back to face the changeling.

"You can stay with me Gar; you don't have to go back to the cell."

He sighed.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I would be betraying Rae if I did."

"So you would like to stay?"

"What do you think? A clone of my girlfriend just offered to share her bed with me."

"I'm not a clone Garfield. I am Raven, this dimension's Raven. I know that I'm not exactly like her…"

"You aren't."

"I told you I'm not a slut. I don't sleep around with guys, only with you."

"I don't know Raptor. I need time. I'm not making any promises though, OK?"

She nodded in defeat.

"Would you like to go outside? I can take you to a forest, we can hang out there for a while if you'd like."

Beast Boy smiled.

"Sure, I'd like that."

As Raptor swirled her cape around them, summoned the dark hemisphere that would transport them to the forest a realization crossed his mind: Raptor didn't have trouble with her emotions interfering with her powers. And she was a lot nicer to him than Raven ever was.

Soon enough the forest appeared around them. Beast Boy relaxed as he took a deep breath of the fresh forest air, savoring the pine scented aroma around him. He turned to the sorceress.

"Thanks Raptor. This is nice."

"You're welcome." She replied. "And please call me Raven. I decided to change my name back."

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Everyone must be on vacation or something! So few hits and reviews. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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Three more days had passed and finally the call came from Gotham: Arkham Asylum was ready for the blond changeling. Raven sighed in relief as Beast Boy's twin unnerved her beyond reason. While she was still furious that fate had replaced her boyfriend with the monster still locked away in the cell there was something about the young criminal that she found … enticing.

Raven shook the thought away before taking another sip of her herbal tea. She was seated at the dining table where the Titans shared their meals, reading the morning paper, anything to distract her from the fact that no one would be sitting in Garfield's chair that morning.

She flipped to the science section of the paper and saw an article that caught her eye. It was a report from a high profile university's psychology department. They had received a generous grant from a widely circulated women's magazine to research if there was any truth to the popular belief that women in general preferred "bad boys" over "nice guys". Raven began to read the article, confident that the study would debunk that ridiculous myth.

Much to her chagrin, it did not and in fact it confirmed the opposite. It chronicled that women were usually drawn to "jerks" over "nice guys" because they perceived the jerks to be strong and self confident. It even went further to explain that women would pick a homely jerk over a handsome nice guy.

Raven tossed the paper away, muttering under her breath, and it landed next to Cyborg, who quickly glanced at the article.

"I take it that you don't agree with the study, do you Raven?" He asked.

"Of course not, the whole premise is preposterous." She answered in a clearly annoyed voice. "Why would an intelligent woman prefer a jerk?"

Cyborg grinned.

"It would explain a lot." He replied.

"So you believe this nonsense?" She snapped at him.

"Oh come on Raven, don't tell me that you don't find our prisoner intriguing?"

She hissed her reply. "He's a self centered jerk, and an evil criminal to boot. What could I possibly see in him?"

Cyborg stroked his chin before replying.

"Maybe some traits that BB lacks, like being assertive."

The tin man knew that the off handed remark was a mistake as soon as it came out of his mouth. Raven scowled at him before bursting into tears. Cyborg's bionic ear was able to hear the compressor in the refrigerator crack, followed by several light bulbs exploding.

"HOW DARE YOU!" She shrieked. "How dare you compare Gar to that monster! How can you even think that I might like that fiend more than my Gar?"

Cyborg raised his hands apologetically.

"I didn't mean it that way Raven, really. Of course BB is a better guy than him."

"That's not what you said! You implied that I should be attracted to him over Gar!"

Cyborg paused before replying.

"You're right Raven. I'm sorry, I was being a jerk."

Raven turned away from him. "Just get him out of here, please." With no warning she phased into the floor and disappeared.

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Beast Boy was resting on the king size bed Raptor had Cyborg install in his cell. He was playing with the GameStation that she gave him that morning. That and the small fridge full of pop and snacks made his imprisonment a little more bearable. He was still sleeping in the cell; even though Raptor's open invitation to bunk with her was still good. Nevertheless he had spent a lot of time outside his cell with Raptor; in fact they had shared breakfast that morning. She actually ate the same thing he did: imitation eggs and bacon, made out of tofu of course.

That he was in his cell this close to dinner was unusual, at least it was given what had happened the past few days. He and Raptor had shared dinner each of the previous 7 evenings and then she would take him out somewhere. Somewhere lonely and uninhabited of course, as she was a fugitive wanted by the law. Tonight however was different as the Hive-5 had gone out to 'make a withdrawal' at a local bank.

The absurdity of his situation had not escaped Beast Boy's attention. He was for all practical purposes dating Raven's evil twin sister. And to make things worse, he was warming up to her. Of course he had promised himself that he would only allow the ridiculous arrangement to go so far. He was making the best of a bad situation, he reminded himself. He hoped that the Hive-5 would be captured and that when the Titans came to inspect their hideout that they would find him in the cell and he would then be able to convince them that he wasn't a villain. He knew it was a long shot, but at the moment it was all he had to go on.

As he continued focusing on beating his own high score on in the game he was playing the doors to the cell block slid open. He didn't look up as he was in a critical section of the game. He then heard the force field shut off, its low frequency hum disappearing.

"Hang on Raven, I'm almost done." He said absentmindedly as he continued to play.

"Raptor's in the infirmary, broccoli face. You're coming with me, now!" Cyborg barked at him.

Beast Boy dropped his controller and leaped off the bed.

"Is she hurt? What happened to her?" He asked with a clearly anxious voice.

"Just come, and don't try anything stupid. Both of my thermal blasters are charged."

The changeling followed evil Cyborg out of the cell block. He was led down hallways in an unfamiliar section of the Hive-5's lair. Within a few minutes they were at the infirmary's entrance.

"She asked for you, don't ask me why." Cyborg informed him, his voice dripping with contempt. Cyborg opened the door and let Beast Boy enter first.

Raptor was lying in a med station bed. She was wearing a hospital gown and had an IV in her arm. She looked pale even by her own standards and had an oxygen mask on her face. Blackfire was tending to her and Beast Boy was able to see stitches on Raptor's stomach before the Tamaranian applied some clean bandages to them.

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked breathlessly.

"Bad luck happened." Blackfire announced. "A bank guard appeared out of nowhere and shot Raptor in the gut, 3 times. She lost a lot of blood, we almost lost her."

Beast Boy approached the wounded sorceress very cautiously. As he reached her side she slowly opened her eyes. After blinking several times she focused them on him. She then gave him a very weak smile.

"Gar, you came." She whispered through the oxygen mask.

"Rae, why aren't you in a healing trance?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Blackfire asked.

The changeling glared at the Tamaranian.

"Where I come from Raven has healing powers. She can heal herself and others from all kinds of wounds."

Blackfire snorted. "If she can do that she's never told us."

Beast Boy looked apprehensively at the sorceress.

"You just rest Rae and you'll recover."

"Don't leave me." She pleaded weakly.

"I'm not going anywhere, Rae."

She feebly reached for the oxygen mask and pulled it off.

"I love you Gar." She croaked.

Beast Boy cupped her face in his hands and gave her a very long and tender kiss.

"I love you too Rae."

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Raven walked into the Tower's detention center, her hesitance was clearly visible in her stance and posture. Robin, Starfire and Cyborg were already there, as were officers from Gotham PD, who were led by Harvey Bullock. Raven kept her distance while the blond changeling stared at her.

"So this is the punk?" The portly detective asked, clearly unimpressed with the prisoner he was charged with taking back to Arkham Asylum in Gotham. "He's just a kid, what's all the fuss about?"

Raven spoke up in a clearly irritated voice.

"Don't underestimate him." She hissed. "His powers match Beast Boy's and he's a psychopath."

"So yer saying he's evil?" Bullock asked. "What is he, some kind of demon?" Bullock taunted the sorceress.

"Watch your mouth Bullock!" Robin barked at him.

Bullock laughed in reply.

"Listen kid, if I'm not afraid of the Bat I ain't gonna be afraid of you."

Starfire's eyes glowed a bright green and starbolts formed on each of her hands.

"You will not insult my friends. I do not care if you are a policeman, I will not tolerate it."

Bullock shrugged. "Eh, don't get yer knickers in a knot cutie, I meant no disrespect."

"I accept your apology detective." She replied in a terse voice.

Bullock turned back to face Robin.

"Ok, let's assume this guy is as dangerous as you say he is, how do we get to Gotham?"

The blond changeling listened in on the discussion from his cell. He sized up the fat detective and the four cops. He locked eyes with Bullock and grinned. He felt like a fox getting ready to raid the chicken coup.

"We've prepared something to help you." Cyborg answered as he tapped a button on a nearby control panel. Suddenly the cell was flooded with a strange orange colored gas. The changeling began to cough and within seconds lost consciousness, falling to the floor. Cyborg then pressed another button and the force field disappeared. Robin entered the cell and producing a large syringe gave the changeling a shot. Satisfied he had given him a full dose he tossed the syringe into the trash.

"So what did you give him?" Bullock asked.

"It's an inhibitor for his powers. He'll wake up in a few hours but his powers will be gone for at least 72 hours, more than enough time to get him to Arkham."

"Whatever." Bullock replied. "Just don't get used to me being your errand boy. I'm only doing this because the commish asked me to as a special favor."

"We didn't ask for Gordon to send you Bullock." Raven replied.

"Raven's right." Robin added. "And we'll come back for him when we're ready to do the interdimensional exchange."

Bullock nodded at the burly sergeant who was the leader of the uniformed police contingent. The four officers entered the cell and the two younger ones picked the blond changeling up under his arms and dragged him out. Raven watched them nervously as they walked past her, unable to take her eyes off the young man.

The Titans followed the police to the Tower's garage where an armored car awaited them. The police loaded the still unconscious teen's body into the rear of the vehicle. Bullock, the sergeant and another officer climbed into the back while the two other officers climbed into the cab in the front.

"Don't let anything happen to him." Raven admonished them. "We're gonna need him later to perform the exchange."

"Don't worry doll face; he's as safe as if he were in his mother's arms." Bullock replied. Raven gave him one of her signature four eyed glares. Bullock shuddered as he slammed the rear doors shut.

"Do they all have to be freaks and whack jobs?" He remarked to the sergeant as the armored car pulled away.

"What do you think detective?" The policeman replied as they all began to laugh.

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Beast Boy rested in the bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

_BB, have you lost your mind?_ He castigated himself. _You can't have feelings for this girl, you just can't. She's a criminal, a violent criminal! She robs banks and hurts people. She murdered Slade!_

The changeling closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his palm.

_Sure, she looks like Raven, talks like Raven and she's crazy about me. But so what? That doesn't change anything._

He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

_Who am I kidding? When she was shot four weeks ago I was worried sick she wouldn't make it. What was I thinking telling her I loved her?_

He scratched his scalp, clearly puzzled with the current turn of events.

_Does she really love me? How can I be sure? And even if she does, so what? I can't love her back, she's a criminal._

"Gar, are you OK? I'm sensing a great deal of turmoil. What's the matter?"

Beast Boy wrapped his arms around the gray skinned girl who was lying next to him in the bed.

"It's nothing Rae."

"Are you sure Gar? I don't want anything to spoil this perfect night we just shared. Now why don't you just close your eyes and go to sleep?"

Raptor snuggled up next to the changeling, delicately running her hand along his exposed figure, tracing it with her index finger.

"Rae, how am I supposed to sleep if you keep caressing me like that?"

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A shorter chapter this time. The next one will be longer.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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"Rae, how am I supposed to sleep if you keep caressing me like that?"

The gray sorceress smiled softly before replying.

"Do you really want me to stop?"

"I didn't say that." He replied.

Her smile widened as she acknowledged her triumph. He was putty in her hands.

"Rae?"

"Yes Gar?"

"Tell me about when you used to be a Titan."

Raptor withdrew her caressing hand.

"Why?"

"I just wanna know. How did you become a Titan and why did you quit?"

Raptor sighed.

"It all began when Starfire came to Earth, escaping from the Gordanians. Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo and Terra tried to protect Starfire from the Gordanians but when the aliens armed their particle weapon there was nothing they could do."

"Where were you then?"

"I was a petty thief at the time. Nothing big, I just stole enough to live off of. I had just run away from Azarath and I was all alone. People picked on me because I was gray and had purple hair. So I'd sneak into bank vaults at night and steal a hundred bucks here and a hundred there. The banks never knew they had been robbed; they just chalked it up to either accounting errors or internal fraud. Anyway, it worked great. Terra was actually on my trail at the time. She knew I was doing it, but she didn't have any proof."

Beast Boy was listening mesmerized, unaware that Raptor had resumed caressing his naked figure.

"So as the Gordanians prepared to destroy the city I stepped in and offered to help. I teleported them aboard the Gordanian ship and they took care of the rest."

"You kinda did the same thing back in my universe, except you weren't a thief."

"For all you know, maybe she was."

"I don't think so. Anyway we fought the Gordanians on the ship. You, I mean she actually saved my life that time."

Raptor gave him a passionate kiss before replying.

"Remind me to thank her if I ever get the chance, lover."

Beast Boy sighed heavily. He missed Raven but Raptor was … intoxicating. He knew that Raven had never made him feel this way. Then again, they had never made love together. Somehow he doubted she would be as enthralling as Raptor was.

"So what happened next? Did they invite you to join the team?"

Raptor shook her head.

"No. Jinx and Terra were against it, especially Terra."

Beast Boy let a small snicker escape his lips.

"What's so funny Gar?"

"In my universe Terra was the outcast and you didn't trust her."

"I see. Anyway, they didn't invite me into the team at first. It was only later at Starfire's insistence that I was asked to join the team."

"How'd that work out?"

"Not so good. Jinx and Terra were always on my case and they never trusted me. It was a long year Gar. I did my best and put my life on the line to protect the city but in the end I was rejected. Terra always badmouthed me to the local press which was more than happy to trash me, but I hung on, mostly because of Starfire's support."

"What happened then? And where did Star go?"

"She had to return to Tamaran to depose her sister, who had overthrown the government and had herself proclaimed Empress."

"So Star went home and Blackfire came to Earth. That was a lousy trade."

"Blackfire isn't as bad as she seems."

"I don't know Rae; she was bad news where I come from."

"Maybe so. So to make a long story short after Starfire left they replaced her with See-more."

"Him? The guy was a total loser in my universe."

"He's a loser here too. So after he joined the team Jinx and Terra decided to make my life miserable. It wasn't long until Slade made me an offer I couldn't refuse. That's where I met your counterpart. We hit it off immediately and it wasn't long before we became lovers. Slade didn't mind, I guess he figured that as long as we were getting laid we wouldn't give him any trouble."

"But you did. Didn't you?"

"Not really, he started it actually. He tried to use Gar to control me. He'd send him away alone on dangerous mission unless I obeyed him. At first I complied but then he went too far and started to demand sex from me."

"And that's when you killed him?"

"Yes."

Beast Boy looked clearly troubled upon hearing Raptor once again confess that she killed Slade.

"You don't approve, do you Gar?" She asked in a monotone that was eerily close to Raven's. He turned away before replying.

"While I don't approve, I understand."

She grabbed his chin and gently turned his head back to her.

"You do?"

He nodded. "A long time ago I tried to kill Slade because he said Terra didn't want to be with me. Lucky for me it was a Sladebot, otherwise I would have become a murderer."

"Gar, sometimes killing can be justified."

"I… I don't know Rae."

Raptor sensed she was travelling into dangerous territory and decided to change the subject.

"So you had feelings for Terra?"

"Yeah, she was my first real crush."

It was now Raptor's turn to sigh.

"So in some ways my real counterpart on your side of the fence is Terra. That's interesting."

"She redeemed herself Raven."

The sorceress climbed on top of Beast Boy, who moaned softly.

"I'm beyond redemption, Gar."

Beast Boy stared up into Raptor's face. Her amethyst eyes were no different than Raven's.

"No Rae, you're wrong, you aren't beyond redemption."

She sat up, exposing the scars on her midsection.

"How can you be so sure of that? I've done terrible things."

"Because I love you. I couldn't love you if you really were evil Rae. You're just confused about who you really are."

Beast Boy saw tears flow down her face. She then collapsed on him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I love you too Gar. I really do."

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Raven had retreated to her room to meditate after the armored car had left for its trip to the airport, where a Wayne Enterprises business jet waited to transport "The Beast" to Gotham. Unfortunately this proved to be a vain attempt as she was unable to settle down. She had been a wreck the first few days after her boyfriend vanished before her eyes and she had slept poorly during that time and was unable to meditate. After a few days she had been able to settle down somewhat and was able to complete a few feeble attempts at meditation. She had continued to improve since then but was now suffering a serious relapse since she saw the blond changeling dragged away to Gotham.

She had been sitting on her bed in the lotus position for almost an hour and heaving a loud sigh she gave up her attempt at meditation. After stretching her legs out she dropped them to the floor. She leaned forward and cradled her head in her hands.

_What if Starfire and Cyborg can't find him, or they find him dead? What will I do?_

She turned and looked at the portrait on her nightstand.

_I can't lose him, I just can't. I should have been more assertive that day; I should never have allowed Cyborg and Starfire to experiment with that infernal machine._

Raven felt her tears drip onto her thighs.

_How could there be another Garfield that's evil. He was so vile, and yet …_

Raven shook her head violently

_No! I'm not attracted to that monster. He looks like Gar, but he's not Gar. Get a grip on yourself, Raven!_

She moaned in frustration.

_But if Gar never returns then … he's all I've got._

Raven's face flashed with a look of anger.

_If my counterpart does anything to hurt him, I swear I'll go to that dimension myself and kill …_

Raven's murderous reverie was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. She calmed herself before answering.

"It's open, come in."

The door slid open and revealed Robin and Starfire's figures. Both wore grim expressions on their faces.

"There's bad news Raven." Robin informed her in an emotionless monotone.

"When it rains it pours." She replied bitterly. "So what happened this time?"

"The armored car, it was ambushed by the Hive-5."

"Is he OK?" Raven asked as she leaped to her feet, her voice dripping with apprehension.

"They captured him. Other than that, we don't know."

Raven leaned against a wall.

"This can't be happening."

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

The young man woke up to a splitting headache, slowly opening his eyes. At first he thought that he was still in his cell at Titans Tower but once he become lucid he was able to see that he was somewhere else. The memory of had happened slowly came back: The armored truck had been rocked by a powerful explosion. Beyond that he had no memory.

He got up out of the lumpy, military grade cot he had been sleeping in and paced around the cell he was trapped in. Like the one at the Tower it had a force field which kept him inside. He explored the cell, much like he had at the Tower, to see if there was any way to escape. He found that it was just as airtight as the first cell.

Just as he gave up looking for a way to escape the main doors to the cell block opened and he saw Jinx and Gizmo enter the room. He immediately addressed them.

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not the green idiot the Titans call Beast Boy."

"We know." Jinx replied. "So how about you tell us who you really are."

The changeling looked surprised.

"You do?"

"You might not be Beast Boy snot muncher, but you're as dumb as he is." Gizmo replied.

"Which isn't surprising since you have his DNA." Jinx added. "So who are you?"

The changeling sized up his interrogators. He was familiar with them of course; back home they were Teen Titans, which meant that in this universe they were not.

"I'm Beast Boy's counterpart from another dimension."

Jinx smiled. "Good, you didn't start off with a lie. But we already knew that, we detected the portal when it opened. What else?"

"I'm a member of the Hive-5."

"That's funny; I've never seen you at any of the team meetings." She taunted him. "Do you have any proof?"

"I don't have any. The Titans took all my stuff."

"How convenient." She replied. "So where were they taking you?"

"To Arkham asylum." He replied. "For 'safekeeping' until Cyborg and Starfire can locate the dimension I came from. Apparently there was some kind of accident where Beast Boy and I got swapped. Once they find the dimension they're planning on sending me back. I guess that won't be happening now."

"Do you want to go back?"

"It depends."

"So who's waiting for you back at home? Who are the members of the Hive-5?" Jinx asked.

The changeling was beginning to like the evil version of Jinx. Plus he didn't really miss Raptor all that much; she had been feeling distant lately and had been turning him down for sex more often than he cared for.

"There's Raptor, Nightwing, Blackfire and Cyborg."

"Raptor? Nightwing? Who the hell are they?" Gizmo barked.

"You know them as Raven and Robin."

"And Blackfire is Starfire's sister, right?" Jinx inquired.

"You got that right."

"Interesting … " Jinx pondered. "So what do you want?"

The changeling grinned.

_To get you in the sack._

"I thought you'd never ask. Once a Hive-5, always a Hive-5. I want to join your team."

"Who says we trust you barf-brain?" Gizmo asked.

"What do I have to do?" The changeling replied.

"For now you'll have to wait. The Titans injected you with inhibtol; your powers will be gone for a few days."

"They did what? So I don't have my powers?"

"Just chill booger brain, they'll come back."

Garfield glared at Gizmo. He was just as annoying here as he was back at home. He then noticed that Jinx was giving him furtive glances.

_She isn't as curvy as Raptor but who says skinny girls aren't any fun in bed?_

"Don't you want to go home?" She asked.

"Sure, but who says that's gonna happen. You shoulda seen Ravens face. Apparently she was dating Beast Boy, and from the looks of her she doesn't think he's ever coming back."

"Pfft! Raven always looks like that. Doesn't yours?" Gizmo harrumphed.

Garfield looked mildly surprised. "No she doesn't, you mean to say that Raven is some kind of gloomster?"

Jinx nodded. "Are you sure she was dating Beast Boy?"

Garfield grinned. "Absolutely. I overheard Starfire and Cyborg discuss that. I don't think she's slept with him yet."

Jinx let out a loud snicker. "That'll be the day. I'm surprised he's dating her at all. She's so creepy."

Gizmo joined her in the laugh. "Well, he's a freak himself. Maybe they're made for each other."

Garfield recalled all the good times he shared with Raptor, realizing that many of them had not even been in the bed they shared. She seemed so lost, so far away to him now.

"So, am I in?" He asked hopefully.

Jinx grinned before answering, her cat like pupils stood out on her face.

"After you pass a test. If you do then you're on the team."

"Excellent, just name it and I'll do it!"

"Like you have any choice, snot brain!"

Jinx and Gizmo turned to leave.

"We'll tell you in three days, when your powers come back." She announced on her way out.

"Three days? Aw c'mon!"

"She said three days, numbskull!"

"OK, fine, three days. How about some grub? I'm hungry."

Jinx turned around. "We don't have any vegetarian food."

"Suits me fine! Raven kept feeding me tofu hotdogs, like she was hoping I would turn into her green idiot if I ate that crap!"

A small chuckle escaped Jinx's lips.

"I'll send Billy up with something for you in a bit." She replied as the sliding doors closed behind them. She and Gizmo proceeded to the Hive-5 Common Room. Gizmo kept glancing at her.

"What is it Gizmo?"

"You like him, don't you?"

"He is kind of cute. Who would have thought that under all that green and pointy ears that Beast Boy was so handsome?"

Gizmo stuck his index finger in his mouth.

"You gotta be kidding Jinx, you actually like him?"

"Don't worry Gizmo; I'm not some stupid schoolgirl with a crush."

The bald genius mumbled his disapproval as they entered the common room.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt


	6. Author's note

Dear Readers:

I find myself at a crossroads with my fan fiction work. It has not gone unnoticed by me that overall interest in my stories has nosedived lately. I make this assessment based on the number of hits and reviews this story and my other work in progress, The Joker's Shadow, are receiving lately, which is to say, not as many as I would have received in the past. Hits have dropped off more than 50% and reviews, especially for this story, have been minimal.

Because of this perceived lack of interest in my latest work I am considering "hanging up the keyboard" so to speak. I will finish The Joker's Shadow as it almost complete, but I am seriously considering pulling the plug on this story, Through A Dark Mirror, as I am not feeling the motivation nor the support to finish it.

Perhaps I am mistaken in believing that interest in my work has dropped, but only you can help me know the truth. If you don't let me (and other writers whose work you also enjoy) know what you think then we can only assume that we are boring you. And that's the last thing we want to do. So please let us know what you think. We put a lot of time and effort into our stories and believe me, we love hearing from you. Your reviews need not be literary masterpieces, all you need to do is share a thought with us: what part of the chapter did you like the best, maybe you think that someone was out of character, anything. Just remember that your silence does not motivate nor reward us.

I do thank all of you for making my earlier stories like The Wild Man's Journey very successful, at least within the realm of this website. I do value your readership and the many reviews you have posted in the past, but if you want me to continue writing then you need to let me know.


	7. Treason

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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Beast Boy hummed happily to himself as he prepared breakfast for Raptor and himself. He grinned as he took in the aromas from the perfect vegan meal that was sizzling in the skillet. He had already set the table for the two of them. This had become a routine for the couple: Beast Boy would get up first, shower and dress and head to the kitchen. Raptor would drag herself out of bed just as he left for the mess hall. Unlike Raven she had a hard time getting up early in the morning, especially after a long night of passionate bedroom gymnastics with her green bean. Beast Boy had once suggested that perhaps she should try meditation to see if it would help her sleep better. She had dismissed the suggestion with a raspberry, and he never mentioned it again.

As Beast Boy prepared to serve the meal he heard the sliding doors open.

"Your timing's perfect babe, breakfast is served." He announced cheerfully without turning around.

"We need to talk, Zucchini Boy." Cyborg snapped at him.

Beast Boy whirled around. Cyborg was accompanied by Blackfire and Nightwing, and all three had stern expressions on their faces.

"Wassup guys?" He asked nonchalantly.

"You are." Nightwing replied.

"Huh?"

"Don't play innocent with us changeling." Blackfire interjected. "We know what you're up to."

"You do?"

"Cut out the smart aleck crap, kid. Just because you're bonking the boss doesn't mean we trust you." Cyborg growled. "You haven't proven to us that we can trust you."

Beast Boy put the skillet back down on the stove.

"What do you want from me?"

"You're going to help us rob a bank 'Beast Boy'" Blackfire announced. "The next time you do the nasty with Raptor, which I'm guessing will be after you finish breakfast, you're going to tell her that you want to join us on a mission."

"And what if I don't?"

"We'll turn you in to the Titans. You'll never see Raptor again."

Beast Boy frowned before replying. "You're bluffing; Raptor would skin you alive if you did that."

"Only if she finds out that we did it."

"Bullshit!"

Nightwing shrugged his shoulders. "Don't say we didn't warn you. But think about it. You would make a great addition to the team, and besides, when Raptor's happy we're happy. And she's been very happy lately. And how do you manage that? Do you morph into a donkey when you do her?"

Beast Boy exploded at the remark, morphing into a green version of Bigfoot. He grabbed Nightwing by his arms and lifted him over his head while Cyborg aimed his blasters at him and Blackfire conjured a pair of starbolts. Before the battle could go into full swing the doors slid open and Raptor walked into the room.

"What the hell is going on here?" She bellowed.

"He started it!" The others accused him, all pointing their fingers at Beast Boy who had quietly resumed his human form and returned to the stove.

"Ah crap, it's burned." He moaned.

Raptor gave her team a death glare that was reminiscent of the days when Beast Boy was convinced that Raven had PMS. She walked over to Beast Boy and hooked her arm around his.

"Don't worry about it Gar, we can go out for breakfast."

Beast Boy looked surprised at her remark. "Really? Where? I mean, won't we get arrested if we go out to a restaurant?"

"Not if it's far away from here." She replied as she swirled her cape around them, conjuring a black hemisphere. Within seconds they had vanished.

"This blows!" Nightwing complained. "He has her eating out of his hand. If we aren't careful she'll marry him and we'll really be stuck with that loser."

"Guys." Cyborg announced. "I think it's time for a change in leadership."

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Beast Boy and Raptor materialized on a sandy beach. It was still very early and the sun was just beginning to rise. Even though it was early the air was warm and balmy. It was also rife with tropical scents as his sensitive nose could smell the aroma of guava and papaya fruit over the rich lush smell of the tropics. He stared at the still pre-dawn ocean; the sun had yet to peek over the horizon. He turned around and saw a dense tropical forest lining the beach. The first thing that came to his mind was the old novel "The Lord of the Flies". He had once borrowed Holden's masterpiece from Raven and read it in a single sitting. He thought he could almost see Ralph or Piggy running along the beach.

"Where are we?"

Raptor lowered her hood as she also inhaled the rich pungency of the tropical air. She moaned happily before answering his question.

"A small, uninhabited island about 150 miles southwest of Fiji." She replied. "I found it a long time ago and used to come here when I wanted to be alone, back when I was still a Titan. What do you think?"

"It's nice, really peaceful. But I thought we were going to have breakfast?"

"It's still too early. There's another island about 30 miles away. There's a great beachfront restaurant there, but it won't be open for at least 2 more hours. It should be about 5 AM right now."

"So what do we do until then? Go for a swim?" He asked in a jesting tone.

"I have a better idea." She replied as she unfurled a large blanket she had tucked under her arm, which she lowered onto the sand. "How about we just watch the sunrise?"

The changeling smiled.

"Sure" He answered as he sat down next to her. She took his hand with hers, caressing his palm with her thumb. They sat together in silence, listening to the sounds of the tropical forest behind the switch from nighttime to daylight. After about 30 minutes Beast Boy cleared his throat.

"What is it Gar?" Raptor asked.

"They do have vegetarian food at that restaurant, don't they?"

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

It was raining in Jump City, pouring actually. There had been a light drizzle that morning which had remained steady through the early afternoon, when it had picked up and become a full blow downpour.

Raven was standing alone in the common room, staring listlessly out the huge windows. The skies were as gray as she looked and felt. It had been two months now since Beast Boy had been absconded to the parallel universe and there had been no progress in finding him. She was alone in the room, which was as silent as a tomb. She glanced at the GameStation console which was idle, its controllers abandoned on the coffee table. She recalled the countless times he had irritated her by playing those games he loved so much on it, trash talking Cyborg even though he seldom won. She would now give anything to see him seated on the circular couch, moaning and cheering himself on as he tried to top the high score on whatever game was in vogue that week.

But it wasn't meant to be. The GameStation remained turned off except for those rare occasions when Robin played with it. Even then she could tell that his heart wasn't into it as he would usually turn it off again after five or ten minutes. Cyborg didn't play at all as he and Starfire spent all their free time in the basement, using the captured machine to try and find the dimension Beast Boy was marooned in, searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. She could tell that the effort was beginning to take a toll on them, but their guilt was so strong that they kept pushing forward.

Looking at the clock Raven realized that they had not emerged from the basement for lunch, even though it was almost 3 PM. She trudged into the kitchen and opened the fridge. After surveying its contents she pulled out several packages of cold cuts and sliced cheese and began to assemble some sandwiches for them. Making their lunch had become a bit of a routine for her and she stuck to sandwiches as she could make those since it didn't involve any cooking which she still preferred to avoid.

After placing several layers of salami, ham, roast beef and provolone cheese on the slices of bread she had put on the tray she crowned them with lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Realizing that she had forgotten to get the mayo and mustard out she walked back to the fridge. The mayonnaise was on a shelf in the door but she couldn't find the mustard. Scanning the fridge she found that someone had wedged it in the back. As she pushed some items aside she saw it… a package of tofu, which was well past its expiration date.

She retrieved the shrink wrapped cube and held it gingerly, and as she stared at it the world vanished around her. She didn't even hear the sliding doors open or the heavy footsteps that followed.

"Are you OK Raven?"

Raven jerked and dropped the tofu on the floor.

"Uh? Oh yeah, sure, I'm fine. I uh, was making you guys some lunch and I couldn't find the mustard." She replied as she reached into the fridge and pulled out the familiar yellow container. "Starfire won't eat anything if it doesn't have mustard on it."

Cyborg reached down and picked up the white cube made of soy bean curd. He inspected it and looked at Raven, whose expression suddenly became sorrowful.

"We're gonna find him Raven, and that's a promise."

She nodded sadly as she reached once again into the fridge and retrieved a two liter bottle of cola, which she placed on the tray along with mayo and mustard containers, along with a couple of glasses.

"I know you're doing your best Cyborg. It just isn't easy, the wait, the uncertainty."

Cyborg nodded as he picked up the sandwich laden tray.

"Hang in there Raven; maybe we'll be lucky today. And thanks for the sandwiches." He replied as the doors slid open. He walked through them and they closed behind him.

Raven sighed. "What have I done to deserve this?"

_You treated him like dirt, you idiot._

Raven wiped a tear away. There was no arguing with that, and in any case she never argued with herself.

"I hope you're OK Gar, wherever you are." She whispered.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Jinx and Gizmo entered the Hive-5 common room and looked around. See-more and Kyd-Wykkyd were playing on the GameStation (which of course was stolen), Mammoth was watching TV (also stolen) while Billy Numerous was putting the final touches on a huge hero sandwich.

"Billy, our prisoner is hungry, take him something to eat."

"Sure thing Jinx, right after I give this sandwich the treatment it deserves."

Jinx cleared her throat. "Just give him that sandwich you just made."

"Are you serious Jinx? What am I supposed to eat?"

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Have a copy of yourself make another sandwich while you take that that one to the prisoner. It'll be ready by the time you get back."

"But he'll just eat it." Billy complained.

"And after you merge back together you won't be hungry anymore."

"But I wanna taste it." He whined.

A vein began to throb in her forehead.

"Then you stay and send your double with the sandwich."

"I'm telling you Jinx, he'll eat it before he gets to the cell block."

"Then I'll kick his butt!"

Billy grinned. "I think that'll work." He replied as he split into two and sent his duplicate off with the sandwich and a 1 liter bottle of soda. Jinx motioned to Gizmo to follow her to the far end of the room.

"And you wonder why I like our prisoner? How could I not? Other than you all of my teammates are morons."

Gizmo gave Jinx the best glare he could muster.

"In case you've forgotten Jinx they still remember that you ran off with Kid Flash and double crossed us."

"And busted all of you out of prison later on, after I dumped the moron." She reminded him.

"You did and that's the only reason we took you back as our leader. But don't kid yourself Jinx; we're still pissed at you for double crossing us for that pretty boy."

Jinx returned his glare. "Garfield isn't some sort do-gooder Gizmo; he's Beast Boy's counterpart from another dimension, and he was a Hive-5 member over there."

"That's what he says. For all we know he's a snot munching spy for the Titans. Don't tell me you trust him?"

"Of course not." She replied indignantly. "We're going to test him, remember."

"I do." The bald midget grinned. "So what's it gonna be?"

"What do you think? I'm gonna have him fight with Raven on our next mission."

"Really? You mean like mano a mano?"

"You could put it that way."

Gizmo laughed. "Then he's dead meat on a stick. You remember what Raven did to us last time? She kicked Mammoth's, yours and Billy's butts all by herself. That changeling will be no match for her, not if he's anything like Beast Boy."

Jinx grinned. "I think he'll win because he is like Beast Boy."

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Beast Boy heaved a contented sigh as he wolfed down the last morsel of his breakfast, which he washed down with a healthy swig of mango juice. The sun was higher now as it was almost 9 AM. He and Raptor had lingered on the desert island longer than planned. The hand holding had slowly evolved to some gentle petting and after a while it was a full blown make out session. After that it was only a matter of time until they disrobed and engaged in a marathon session of lovemaking. They had to rest for almost an hour after they were done. All that "work" gave him a ravenous appetite.

As the waiter cleared the table he noticed that Raptor was staring at the now azure colored ocean, mesmerized by the rhythmic dance of the waves that crashed into the beach just yards from where they were seated. It just didn't get any better than this, he thought to himself.

He remembered that there was something he needed to talk with Raptor about, but was loathe to break the magic that permeated the air. He was so enthralled with the sorceress that he hadn't even thought about Raven that entire morning since they arrived. But he knew that it was important and it couldn't wait.

"Rae, there's something I wanna talk with you about."

Raptor snapped back into reality.

"What is it Gar?" She asked absentmindedly.

"It's your teammates Rae. They don't like me."

She smiled at him.

"Tell me something I don't know." She snickered.

Beast Boy's demeanor quickly became indignant.

"I'm not joking Rae." He snapped at her. "They're demanding that I join the Hive-5 and that if I don't that they'll turn me over to the Titans."

Raptor's face did not betray the anger she was feeling inside and she didn't say a word.

"Rae, did you hear what I said?"

She acknowledged him with a nod.

"Gar, I run the Hive-5, heck, I AM the Hive-5. That won't happen. I won't allow that to happen. Do you understand?"

He looked at her skeptically.

"Yeah, I do."

Raptor frowned. "But you don't believe me, do you?"

He shook his head.

"Of course, I believe you Rae. But what if they double cross you too?"

Raptor leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed and harrumphed. "They wouldn't dare!"

Beast Boy struggled to agree with her. He had seen the kind of people Nightwing, Blackfire and Cyborg were, and they were nothing like his friends back home. They weren't even like the Hive-5 from back home. They were scary beyond reason and he knew that they were extremely dangerous.

"Rae, let's run away and never go back. Just you and me. We can start a new life together."

Raptor's eyes betrayed the surprise she felt.

"Are you serious Gar?"

Before Beast Boy could reply a ruckus was heard in the open air restaurant. The other patrons got up from their tables, abandoning their unfinished meals and ran as fast as they could. Raptor turned in the direction of the disturbance.

"Oh no!" Were her only words. Beast Boy had also turned to look at the source of the disruption. He gasped when he saw what who it was: Gizmo and Mammoth were weaving their way through the restaurant and were headed in their direction. Raptor grabbed his wrist and took off like a rocket, smashing through the restaurant's thatched roof.

"We have to get out of here!" She shouted. "It's a trap."

"So they wouldn't double cross you, huh?"

He could see the unmitigated fury in her face.

"There's gonna be hell to pay for this!" She shouted. She was cut off as she had to dodge Terra who was on an intercept course with them, perched on one of her ubiquitous flying boulders.

With no warning they were hit by another boulder, which neither saw as Jinx used one of her hexes to distract them. The boulder had hit Raptor hard and she was in free fall. Beast Boy morphed into a pterosaur and grabbing her with his talons he stopped her plunge. The victory was short lived as he was hit by a concussion rocket that Gizmo had shot at him. Once again they were plunging to the ground and Beast Boy, who had been so stunned by the concussion bomb that he didn't know which way was up somehow managed to crash land on the beach. He immediately morphed back into his human form, unable to hold on to his animal form any longer. Raptor rolled away from him and regained consciousness in time to see the Titans circling around them.

"Give it up Raptor!" Terra shouted. "Make this easy on yourself."

"You'd like that wouldn't you Terra?" Raptor replied.

Mammoth picked up Beast Boy's still stunned form and threw him over his shoulder.

"Rae, help me! I can't morph!" He pleaded.

Raptor turned away from him and without saying a word she phased into the ground and disappeared. Beast Boy stared in disbelief.

_She ditched me! She left me behind to save her own ass._

Beast Boy clenched his teeth as he fought back to stop the tears from forming in his eyes.

_Raven would never ditch me._

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Well, this series is still alive. I thank the twelve of you who responded and because of you I will finish this story. As for the rest of you, who couldn't be bothered to drop me a note, well you're in luck. You will continue to enjoy the fruits of my labor without even offering a thank you. So be it. But to those who did reply: Thank You!


	8. Meet the Titans

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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Beast Boy was lying face down on the bed, his face buried in the pillow. He had been in this position since the Titans had tossed him unceremoniously into the cell 2 hours earlier. He had yet to get up from the bed and he hadn't even moved and for good reason, he didn't want the Titans to see him cry.

He felt like a fool, a chump. He had actually believed that she loved him and worse of all he thought he could reform her, bring out the true Raven that was buried in her. It was only now that he realized that he had been projecting his old feelings for Terra onto Raptor. The main difference was that he had been right about Terra not being evil, while he had been dead wrong about Raptor. He still couldn't believe that she abandoned him like that, especially after he had just asked her to run away with him. He had even been considering asking her to marry him.

But he also knew that part of the fault lay in his own lap. He had fallen for her when he should have known better and he knew that the sex was the main reason that had happened. She seemed so open, unencumbered with hang ups like Raven was. But worst of all there had been a little voice at the back of his mind that kept reminding him that Raven was his girlfriend and not Raptor. Of course, unlike Raptor, Raven didn't put out, so he had cheated on her with what was fundamentally her slutty twin sister.

Now Beast Boy was feeling guilty. Guilty for having forsaken Raven, for being disloyal to her. He was certain that Raven was probably spending her every waking moment trying to find him, while he was cavorting with Raptor every night in her bed.

The changeling sighed.

_If I ever get home, what am I going to tell her? I know I won't be able to hide it from her indefinitely; I'm going to have to tell her sooner or later._

Beast Boy choked back his tears.

_And after I tell her she'll dump me and never speak to me again. BB, you're an idiot!_

He didn't care what happened to him anymore. He didn't care if he spent the rest of his life in that cell, since there was nothing waiting for him outside those 4 walls. As far as he was concerned his life was over.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the cell block's sliding doors opening. He didn't look up to see who it was and quite frankly he didn't care. He heard the light footsteps approach his cell before they stopped. He could tell that it was one of the girls. As he lay motionless he heard the force field deactivate, but even then he didn't move.

"She broke your heart, didn't she?" The familiar voice asked. "We could have told you that would happen had we found you first."

Beast Boy's head popped up and he swung himself around so that he was facing her.

"Terra?"

The blond gave him a sweet and gentle smile.

"So I take we were friends in your universe, am I right?"

Beast Boy wiped away the moist remnants of his tears from his face while nodding in reply before answering.

"We were, that is until you pretended to not know me."

Terra scrunched her nose. "Why would I do that?"

He shook his head in reply. "It's a long story, one you probably won't like."

"Try me."

He sighed before proceeding,

"OK, but don't say I didn't warn you. Here's the Cliff Notes version: In my universe you were a late addition to the Titans. Raven didn't like you but Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and I did. I fell in love with you, but you ran away because you couldn't control your powers and you wanted to keep it a secret. Robin figured out that you couldn't control your powers but you thought I told him so you ran away without even saying good bye. You came back a few months later with your powers under control and rejoined the team and sort of became my girlfriend. But you were working for Slade as his apprentice, you betrayed us to him and you almost killed us. We regrouped and counterattacked after which you ran back to Slade. He tried to use you to kill me but you fought back. You accidentally triggered an underground volcano. Slade fell into it and died. You stayed behind to plug up the volcano and succeeded, but you turned into stone. A year later I saw a girl who looked like you at a local school. I went to the cave and your 'statue' was gone, so I figured that girl had to be you, but she said she wasn't you and she sent me away. I still think she was you, but I never saw her again."

Terra looked surprised to hear the unbelievable story.

"I was your 'sort of' girlfriend?"

Beast Boy blushed before replying.

"Kind of. You gave Slade the security codes to the Tower but you invited me out on a date to get me out of there so I wouldn't be harmed. You took me to an amusement park, and we almost kissed and would have had Slade not shown up."

Terra chuckled. "Well, that's some story. So I worked for Slade? I thought that was Raptor's job."

"After our Terra betrayed us I was the only one who thought she could be redeemed. I guess I thought I could redeem Raptor as well."

"I see, so how did Raptor win you over? Did she sleep with you?"

Beast Boy's head dropped.

"I know, I'm a chump. She played me like a fiddle. She told me that my counterpart here was the only lover she ever had."

Terra laughed. "So that's why she started wearing her cape and leotard again. I've got bad news for you Garfield. Raptor sleeps around … a lot. She's basically a whore."

"Somehow, I guess I knew that."

"If you don't mind my asking, do you have a girlfriend back home?"

He nodded sadly.

"Yeah I do, it's Raven."

Terra gasped.

"Oh my, you really dug yourself into a hole."

"Tell me about it. So what happens to me now?"

Terra chuckled. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. We're setting you free."

"You are?"

"Well, yeah. You haven't committed any crimes that we know of. Dating Raptor might be a monumentally stupid move, but it isn't a crime, at least not according to any laws on the books. Anyway, you're free to go; you can leave at any time."

Instead of leaping to his feet Beast Boy lowered himself back onto the bed.

"I said you can leave."

"I don't have anywhere to go." He replied morosely.

"So you'd rather stay in this cell?"

"I guess."

Terra rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the wrist.

"I have an idea. Come with me."

Terra led Beast Boy through the Tower. He noticed that there were some differences in the layout of the Titans HQ when compared to the Tower he called home. One thing that was the same was the location of Raven's room.

"You didn't empty out her room?" He asked.

Terra shook her head as they walked past the door.

"Nobody wants to go in there. It's way too creepy. So we left it alone."

They continued walking until they reached the common room doors. As they slid open a familiar sight greeted him, or at least it was sort of familiar. The couch was where it belonged, but it was square instead of crescent shaped. Gizmo and See-More were playing a videogame on the giant screen, but it wasn't a GameStation, it was a Y-Box 720. As he looked around he saw more discrepancies, most of which were minor.

Gizmo looked up from the couch.

"What's he doing here? I thought you were turning the snot muncher loose."

"Yeah, why's he still here?" Jinx asked.

Terra put her hands on her hips.

"I want him to join our team."

"You do?" Beast Boy gasped.

"What?" Jinx shrieked. "Just like that? Just because we couldn't prove that he's a member of the Hive doesn't mean he isn't."

"He was a member of the Titans in his universe." Terra replied.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to see some proof of that!" Gizmo growled.

Terra turned to Beast Boy.

"Your utility belt please."

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure."

Beast Boy undid his utility belt, which Raptor had returned to him after they began to sleep together. He handed it to Terra who began to rifle through it. The first thing she pulled out was his communicator which she handed to Gizmo.

"He has one of our communicators."

"Big whoop, they could have reverse engineered it, it could be a fake." Jinx commented.

Terra handed the communicator to Gizmo and the midget walked over to a workstation and began to examine it. After a couple of minutes he had a verdict.

"It's not one of ours." He announced.

"I knew it, it's a fake!" Jinx trumpeted triumphantly.

"It didn't say it was fake, just that it's not one of ours." Gizmo quipped.

"That makes no sense." Mammoth chimed in.

"It would if you had a brain moron! He's from another dimension and so is his communicator. It's 100% compatible with ours. The only difference is that just like him it has a different quantum signature."

Jinx still looked skeptical.

"I want more proof."

Terra resumed rifling through the belt. She found his Titan credit card, some photos of the other Titans, including the ones her counterpart and Beast Boy had taken at the amusement park photo booth, some candy, a chapstick, a first aid kit and then finally she found what she was looking for. She handed the security card to Gizmo.

"No one knows we have these, not even Raptor because we never gave her one. Is it real?"

Gizmo's eyes grew wide as he took the card from Terra. He typed furiously on his keyboard before sliding it through a card reader. His eyes grew even wider when he saw the results on the screen.

"What's your code barf brain?"

Beast Boy looked at Terra, who nodded in reply.

"Beta, epsilon, alpha, sigma, tau, beta, omicron, psi." Beast Boy replied. Gizmo typed in the code.

"It's legit, even though it also has a different quantum signature the card would work in our system.'' He sighed. "He could trigger the self destruct sequence if he wanted to."

Jinx, Mammoth and See-More all gasped at the revelation.

"Did you ever give the codes to Raptor?" Terra asked in a worried tone.

Beast Boy shook his head. "She never asked me about the contents of my belt, but they took it away from me at first. I'm pretty sure Cyborg must have examined it before she gave it back to me. You might want to change all your codes just to be safe."

Beast Boy sighed.

"Terra, what did she want from me? Why was she nice to me?"

Jinx replied first. "You reminded her of The Beast. He was the only long term lover she ever had. I suppose she missed him. Who would have thought that Raptor could be even remotely monogamous?"

"I wouldn't go that far!" Mammoth snorted.

"Whatever." Terra interrupted. "So are there any objections to Beast Boy joining the Titans?"

Mammoth was the first to agree, followed by See-More and Gizmo. Jinx was the only hold out.

"Before I cast my vote, tell me then if you were a Titan in your universe, what were we?"

Beast Boy gulped.

"You're not gonna like the answer."

"Just tell us booger brain!"

"Ok, but like I said, you're not gonna like the answer. All of you, except for Terra, were members of the Hive-5."

"And what about the Hive here?" See-More asked.

"They were the Titans back home, except for Blackfire. She was also evil back at home. Starfire took her place."

"And what about Terra? Was she Hive or Titan?" Jinx asked.

"He already told me. My counterpart was briefly a Titan, but then became Slade's apprentice."

The group gasped.

"That's rough." Mammoth commented.

Beast Boy noticed that Terra had omitted telling them about how they had briefly been a couple back in his dimension.

"Well Jinx, what do you say?"

The enchantress crossed her arms and frowned.

"It goes against my better judgment, but I'll vote yes under one condition."

"What's that?" Terra asked.

"That he cleans out Raptor's room."

"I'll do it." He replied. "But why are you so afraid of her room? In my dimension you guys once stormed the Tower and kicked us out. You had no problem going into Raven's room. You even tried on some of her clothes."

"We just don't like her. OK?" Jinx hissed at him before shuddering. "I wore her clothes?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Well, just her cape."

"Whatever! Just clean it out. I suppose you already know where the cleaning supplies are?"

Beast Boy continued grinning as he trotted into the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets.

"They're not here." He said in a confused voice.

"They're in the next cabinet snot muncher."

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Meanwhile, across town…

Cyborg, Nightwing and Blackfire were high fiving each other as they replayed the video on their stolen TV for the umpteenth time.

"She's so predictable!" Blackfire laughed as she pointed at the screen. "She took him to her 'secret island'; like we don't know she takes her boyfriend du jour there to get laid while the sun rises."

"Great job hacking into the Russian spy satellite Cy!" Nightwing chuckled. "This video feed of them doing the nasty on the beach is priceless. We should post it on the internet!"

Evil Cyborg leaned back on the couch with a pleased look on his face. "It was one of my finer moments I'll admit." He laughed. "They sure looked like they were having a good time."

"And look at him go. He doesn't seem to tire. And look at that stupid lovey dovey smile on Raptor's face. I think she really is in love with him." Blackfire remarked.

"You seem to be enjoying the show Blackfire." Nightwing replied.

"Of course I am. I never knew Garfield had such a cute butt!"

The three villains erupted into raucous laughter and almost didn't notice the black hemisphere that appeared and dissolved, revealing a furious Raptor.

"Oh don't be angry Raptor! So we watched you frak him, it's not like you're shy or something." Blackfire chuckled.

Cyborg was the first to notice that something was amiss.

"Where's Broccoli Face?"

Raptor clenched her fist, encasing Cyborg in her dark energy's vise like grip.

"Don't you dare call him that!" She hissed.

"Where is he Raptor?" Nightwing asked.

"The Titans captured him you idiots!" She screamed as she looked at the screen.

"You imbeciles! They were monitoring that satellite! I hope you had fun with your stupid peep show! It's your fault they found us!"

The 3 villains were stunned. Raptor released her grip on Cyborg and he landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

"So what happened?" Blackfire asked.

"What do you think? We were having breakfast in Moureia when they showed up and ambushed us. They captured him first and I had no choice other than to run. I HAD TO LEAVE HIM BEHIND!"

By this point Raptor was crackling with dark energy and her 4 demonic eyes were glowing.

"Look Raptor we're sorry." Blackfire apologized. "We didn't mean for this to happen."

Raptor snarled at the Tamaranian.

"Sorry doesn't cut it Blackfire. You're all going to help me rescue him!"

"But Raptor, you know we can't breach the Tower's defenses, we've' tried it before and failed. It would be a suicide mission." Cyborg pleaded with her.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Cyborg shook his head.

Raptor slowly began to assume her demonic form.

"Then maybe I'll cut a deal with my father. He's been dying to get into this dimension." She said in a guttural, otherworldly voice.

The three villains leaped to their feet.

"Raptor, you can't be serious!" Nightwing shouted.

"Give us some time, we'll figure a way to rescue him." Blackfire pleaded. "But please don't bring your father here, please!"

Cyborg interrupted the conversation when he noticed a light flash on their ops console.

"Wait guys, there some Titans news on TV." He said as he grabbed the remote and switched the TV's input to a local TV channel.

_We have some breaking Titans' news. We take you straight to a news conference at Titans tower…_

The image switched from the newsroom to the press hall at Titans Tower (I bet you didn't know they had one. Well they don't, I just made that up) where Terra was standing behind a podium with Beast Boy standing next to her.

"_Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I have some exciting news. A new member has joined the Titans. He hails from a parallel universe where he was also a Teen Titan. He will be instrumental in helping to bring down the Hive-5 once and for all. His name is Beast Boy and he has similar morphing powers to the now missing Beast of the Hive-5, who we believe is now trapped in Beast Boy's home universe."_

Terra stepped aside and applauding she ceded the podium to Beast Boy. The press corps joined her in her applause as Beast Boy bashfully stepped behind the podium and adjusted the microphone before he began to speak.

"_Thanks folks, I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to have found a new home here at the Tower, of course my old home was also the Tower, but you know what I mean. I've been a Titan for almost 5 years now and I've fought the Hive-5 back in my own universe. It won't be any different here and I won't rest until the Hive-5 are captured and behind bars. And that especially goes for Raptor. I won't relent until that evil, lying and double crossing witch has been captured …"_

The TV exploded in the Hive common room and the three villains shielded themselves from the flying debris. Raptor fell to her knees.

"I should have stayed with him. Why did I abandon him, why?"

Blackfire approached Raptor and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well find a way to get him back Raptor, we will."

Raptor lashed out at the Tamaranian with all the fury of her dark energy, sending the woman flying into a concrete wall, where she left an outline of her figure as she fell to the floor in a daze.

"He's lost to me you idiot! Can't you see that he hates me now?" She wailed. "I've lost him, I've lost him forever, and with my rotten luck Terra's going to like him and make him hers."

No one else dared to console the sorceress.

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I know we're overdue for some Evil Gar and Raven action, just be patient, its coming. Just don't forget that Raven (not Raptor) hasn't given up on finding BB yet.

I also left you guys a little Easter egg in this chapter. Can you find it?

And now, since I complained about you guys for not reviewing I will acknowledge those who did with a mail bag!

**Sun Xiao** - "Thank you SOOOOOO MUCH for continuing this story! This is a wonderful story."

_You're welcome. I guess I couldn't let it die on the vine._

**Novus Ordo Seclorum** - "My favorite scene was Raven rifling through the fridge only to find an old container of tofu...seemingly from a bygone era. It was a touching scene. I am a very nostalgic person and things like that tear at me. I can only imagine Raven's face... and what was going through her mind as she stood holding that container. Wondering where he could be and if he would ever return. Beautifully crafted."

_It's funny how those scenes can sometimes come out of the blue. At first I was going to have Raven just make them lunch and then the tofu thing came out of nowhere._

**Emerald and Amethyst Hero** - "I knew Raptor was no Raven."

_She isn't, but she's closer than you might think._

**Your Humble Narrator Drewgie** - "If I'd have known about this story, I would have reviewed already, and left you a little note. But I didn't. So now I will: GREAT STORY! Can't wait for the next chapter. Not just saying that either."

_Thanks! It's always great to meet new reader/reviewers._

**Techno Skittles** - "Everyone gets pissed at someone in this chapter."

_Ain't that the truth!_

**Downward Spiral 1** - " Honestly, I'm happy you had Raptor ditch BB, I don't like them together and even though she is very similar to Raven, she feels off to me."

_I had you guys worried there for a while, didn't I? Poor BB, he was feeling lonely, but he should have known better._

**Hinn-Raven** - "Oh dear, now poor Beast Boy is with the Titans. THAT'S going to be interesting... It's going to be hard for him, that's all I know."

_He had some soul searching to do, that much is certain._

**GreenRock** - "I'm also interesting in seeing where the Raven/Garfield plot will go."

_Stay tuned_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Ach! Damn you Raptor for chickening out!"

_She is definitely regretting her spur of the moment action._

**gregthezombie** - "excited to see how things develop between bb and terra and the reunion of gar and raven as enemies. Keep up the great work :)"

_Thanks!_


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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Another month passed by. Cyborg and Starfire had yet to pinpoint the dimension Beast Boy was trapped in, but they were closing in. There had been no sign of the Hive-5 or Evil Gar during that time, and the Titans were anticipating the inevitable showdown. It was going to be challenging, as they were going to be heavily outnumbered by the team of criminals. Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, See-more, Billy Numerous, and Kyd-Wykkyd were going to be joined by Beast Boy's evil twin, while the Titans would be short a teammate.

As had become her new routine, Raven was bringing a tray full of sandwiches to the basement for her teammates to consume while they searched for Beast Boy. As she prepared to walk down the long flight of stairs the Tower's klaxons began to blare. Raven turned and ran back to the common room with the tray still in her hands.

_It's about time._

As Raven reached the common room Cyborg and Starfire had finally caught up with her.

"Oh yeah! We're gonna kick some bad guy butt!" The tin man crowed with delight.

As the sliding doors opened they revealed Robin's erudite figure sitting at the mission console, typing away furiously.

"Is it them?" Raven asked.

Robin nodded.

"They're robbing a bank. Titans, let's be extra careful out there, this has to be a trap."

The other three nodded in agreement.

"Cyborg! You take Mammoth and See-more. Starfire, you take Kyd Wykkyd and Billy Numerous. I'll take Gizmo and Evil Gar. Raven, you'll take Jinx!"

"No! "Raven barked at him. "I want to take Evil Gar."

Robin shook his head.

"Bad idea Raven, that guy knows how to push your buttons. Plus I need you to fight Jinx."

"But…"

"Sorry Raven, but that's an order."

The sorceress frowned at the Boy Wonder.

"Fine, but once I beat her I'm going after him."

Robin sighed.

"Titans Go!"

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Beast Boy was sitting on the Tower roof, his legs dangling over the edge. It had been a busy month for him with the alternate universe Titans. Other than the reversal between the Titans and the Hive-5 most other things were normal, and that included the list of villains: Control Freak, Mumbo Jumbo, Dr. Light., Plasmus, Cinderblock, etc. The Titans had been busy subduing the usual roster of Jump City villains and for the first time in weeks they caught a break.

Beast Boy was watching the sunset as its warm rays bathed the city's skyline in an amber glow. He heard the access door open, turned around and smiled.

"Hey BB." The geomancer called out to him. "What's shakin'?"

He smiled back at her. In some ways it was hard to believe she really was Terra. The last time he had seen her in his universe she had scorned him and sent him away with the admonition that 'things change', which suddenly rang in his ears as the blue eyed blond sat down next to him.

"Things changed." He murmured to himself.

"What'd you say BB? I didn't catch that."

He looked her in the eyes.

"Things change." He said out loud.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed.

"It's the last thing you told me in our universe. And now I'm stuck here and I can't get home." He replied despondently.

Terra draped an arm around his shoulder.

"Can I see those pictures again, the ones from the amusement park?"

Beast Boy nodded as he reached for a compartment in his belt. He handed the photo booth pictures to her. Terra cradled them carefully in her hand as she examined them.

"It's weird. I see myself with you in these pictures, smiling, having fun and yet I have no memory of it. It's a true story that never happened."

"It did for me."

Terra gave him a squeeze.

"I'm sorry; I guess I'm just dredging up painful memories."

He shook his head.

"No, it's more like unfulfilled dreams."

"Were you in love with her?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, I was." He said as he took one of the photos back from her and admired it. "It was a long time ago and I was still a kid, but I was head over heels for you … sorry, I mean her."

Before Terra could say anything both hers and Beast Boy's communicators chirped. They flipped them open simultaneously and Gizmos mug appeared in their screens.

"It's show time sludge suckers! The Hive is breaking into LuthorCorp's downtown headquarters."

"They're going to steal the quantum blasters?" Terra asked.

"Duh!" Was his only reply.

"We'll meet everyone there. Terra out."

Terra and Beast Boy slammed their communicators shut as a large boulder floated up to them.

"Wanna ride?" She asked. Beast Boy had a flash back to when he had crashed onto one of Raven's dark disks.

_Do you think this is a taxi?_

"Sure Terra, thanks!"

He hopped onto her boulder and to his surprise she took his hand in her own.

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The battle at the downtown bank was fierce. Robin had been correct in assuming there was an ulterior motive for the robbery. The Hive had not come to rob the bank.

They came to smash the Titans.

Everyone had their hands full and Raven understood why Robin had assigned her a single opponent. She was struggling with Jinx, which was unexpected, at least for Raven. Part of the reason was because she couldn't take her eyes off of evil Garfield. Every time she saw him her blood began to boil with anger and fury and she kept losing focus of her showdown with Jinx. Halfway through the battle he began to blow kisses at her when she looked at him, which unnerved her to no end.

"What's the matter Raven? You seem out of sorts." Jinx taunted her in her own monotone. "You aren't upset that Garfield would rather play with us, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Raven snarled back at her as she shot a blast of her obsidian light at the pink haired enchantress. The attack had been clearly telegraphed and Jinx easily dodged the volley with a grin on her face. Raven snarled at her, preparing another attack when she was side swiped by a dinosaur's tail which slammed her into a wall. Still seeing stars she managed to get back on her feet. Once her vision cleared she saw him standing before her, his arms crossed in a mocking gesture.

"So the virgin ice queen can be distracted!" He gloated.

"Shut up, you idiot" Raven hissed at him.

"What say you and I blow this Popsicle stand and find a nice quiet place where I can make you a woman?"

Raven's eyes glowed red.

"In your dreams loser." She snarled back at him.

"You might as well say yes." He continued to taunt her as he and Jinx dodged her uncoordinated attacks. "I know that Raptor is probably having her way with your boyfriend. Why not have your way with me? I promise to be gentle."

Raven's eye s had now split into 2 pairs.

"Gar, knock it off!" Jinx chided him. "I've never seen her like this before."

Ignoring Jinx's warning he continued his taunting.

"But I suppose I'm wasting my time with you, but I'm not surprised. You're no Raptor."

Jinx watched in horror as Raven assumed her demonic form. As the tendrils emerged from under her cloak Jinx fled in a panic, signaling her team to retreat, which everyone did except for evil Gar who was now trapped in her tendrils. Raven picked him up and slammed him against the ground, knocking him out as the rest of the Hive fled to safety.

She resumed her normal human form and approached the changeling's supine form.

"And you're no Beast Boy." She growled.

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OK, this is a short update, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. But you know me, I will update soon.


	10. Crossing the threshold

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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The sound of the sliding door opening and shutting echoed throughout the prison cell block, allowing stray beams of the late afternoon sunlight to sneak into the otherwise dark and lugubrious section of the Tower.

The prisoner had once again been given a massive dose of inhibitol and his powers were completely disabled. He remained unconscious and had a large bump on his head as Raven transported him to his cell.

"Raven, I really ought to check out that bump on his head in the infirmary, he might have a concussion." Cyborg reminded her.

"I'll take care of him." She snarled back at her teammate. She had a scowl on her face as she dragged the unconscious changeling by the collar of his costume instead of using her dark energy to move him.

She reached the cell and dragged him in; dropping him on the floor with what for her was uncharacteristic disdain. She kneeled down next to him and placed her hand next to his head, her blue light made its appearance and after a minute she stopped. As the changeling began to stir she walked out of the cell and paused in front of a keypad. She entered her multi-digit code and the cell's force field came to life, sealing the victim inside as its signature hum filled the room.

Raven felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw that it was Robin. Cyborg and Starfire had already returned to the basement to catch up on the status of the dimensional search algorithm they had put together and set running earlier that day.

"Are you OK Raven?" He asked. "You didn't seem like yourself out there."

"I know." She replied. "This creep just got on my nerves. It's hard to believe that he has so much in common with Gar, and yet he's so different."

"I suppose that all our counterparts in that universe are like that. It's a sobering thought. I can't help but wonder why it is that way." Robin commented.

Raven shuddered. She couldn't even begin to imagine what her counterpart was like and the changeling's words kept ringing in her mind.

_I know that Raptor is probably having her way with your boyfriend._

Raven silently promised herself that if this so called 'Raptor' had even laid a single finger on her boyfriend that she would pay for it dearly.

"I don't know Robin; I suppose it's just the natural order of things. Maybe the universes balance each other out…"

Raven's speculative rambling was interrupted by her communicator which began to chirp. She flipped it open and saw Starfire's smiling face on the display.

"What is it Starfire?"

The princess's grin grew even wider.

"I have glorious news dear friend. Our new algorithm has collided with the paid for soil."

"What?"

Cyborg stepped into the screen's view area.

"She's saying that we found the dimension."

Raven pumped her arm in an uncharacteristic display of exuberance, which did not go unnoticed by Robin, who smiled at the good news.

"We'll be right down!" Raven shouted into her communicator. She grabbed Robin's hand and the two birds phased into the floor, reappearing in the basement.

Starfire and Cyborg were grinning from ear to ear as Raven ran towards them.

"So how soon can you fire that machine up and bring him back?" She asked breathlessly. Suddenly their expressions changed.

"There's a slight problem." Cyborg muttered.

"A problem? What kind of problem?" She snarled.

"It's the portal machine in the other universe. It's offline, and we need both machines working together to do the exchange."

"Why is it offline? Can't you activate it from here?"

"We do not know why it is offline Raven." Starfire replied. "And we cannot activate it remotely."

Raven closed her eyes and crossed her arms in an unhappy gesture.

"So we're no better off than before." She said bitterly.

"Raven, can't you open a portal to that dimension with your magic?" Robin asked innocently.

Raven's mouth fell open wide followed by her smacking her face with her palm.

"Of course! I never thought of that. A parallel universe isn't really another dimension, but there's no reason why I can't open a portal to one!"

Suddenly her expression changed. Robin thought that she looked like a child on Christmas Day, dying to open her present.

"Meet me at his cell." Were her only words as she phased into the ground. Robin, Cyborg and Starfire knew what she was up to and hastily made their way to the cell block.

As the three Titans burst into the prison level they saw that Raven was already there making preparations. She was inside a circle she had drawn on the floor using a potion she had in a round blue bottle making some final preparations as the changeling watched silently from his cell. When she was done she picked up a small knapsack from the floor which contained the supplies she would need for the trip home and walked over to the cell. She deftly entered her code on the panel and the force field along with its ubiquitous hum disappeared.

"You're coming with me." She ordered the changeling in a no nonsense tone that implied that declining her command was not an option. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding that he was ready to go home after all. She grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him into the circle.

"I'll be back as soon as possible." She informed her teammates.

Cyborg stepped into the circle.

"You think we're letting you go alone? Ain't gonna happen, girl. We're going with you to bring him back."

"It could be dangerous." She warned them.

"We laugh at danger." Starfire replied as she stepped into the circle.

"And we're a team Raven." Robin added as he stepped into the circle. "We're in this together."

Evil Gar finally spoke up.

"Oh give me a break." He moaned as he rolled his eyes. "You guys make me …"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" The 4 Titans thundered at him. The now powerless changeling recoiled at their rebuke and said no more.

"Whenever you're ready Raven." Robin announced.

Raven nodded and began the spell. She handed evil Gar over to Robin who secured him so that he would not bolt as they were transported to the other universe. She assumed the lotus position and began to levitate. Her eyes glowed black and she began a strange chant none of them were familiar with or had ever heard before. The circle on the floor began to shimmer and a windy vortex began to rise from it and form around them. Cyborg likened the experience to being inside the eye of a tornado as the cell block around them began to vanish and it slowly faded away until it was gone. Soon all that surrounded them was an eerie void. Robin didn't say anything but he understood that at the moment they were in some sort of limbo, a place of non existence between the universes. Stepping through the vortex at this point would have guaranteed certain and instantaneous death. Suddenly they were able to see something forming outside of the circle. It quickly took shape and began to look familiar. Within a few more seconds the vortex disappeared.

They were in the Tower's common room.

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Beast Boy and Terra were the second group to arrive at the scene as Gizmo used his rocket pack to fly to the LuthorCorp facility. Jinx, Mammoth and See-more were on their way in the "Titan mobile" which Gizmo had designed. Beast Boy thought Gizmo's car was ugly, especially when compared to Cyborg's T-Car back home, but had wisely kept that opinion to himself. Terra and Beast Boy were still holding hands as they arrived and Gizmo noticed, giving them a mocking love struck look on his face.

"Stuff it Gizmo!" The geomancer barked at him. "You wait here while BB and I go inside to check things out! Once the others arrive join us immediately."

The couple entered the facility while Gizmo grumbled to himself.

"More like they're going to check each other out." He complained out loud. "I had Terra eating out of my hand before that green interloper showed up." He deluded himself. "What does he have that I don't?"

Meanwhile Terra and Beast Boy carefully made their way into the building. They knew they would find the Hive in the weapons R&D lab. As they hurried into the bowels of the building they encountered two security guards. One was limping and had his wounded comrades arm draped over his shoulder.

"Are you OK? Do you need help?" Beast Boy asked.

The healthier guard shook his head.

"We'll be OK, but you have to get to the weapons lab. The quantum blasters aren't there and the Hive is tearing the place apart." He responded.

The super heroes acknowledged his report with a nod and continued to make their way to the lab. As they arrived they saw that things were as the guard had reported as the Hive was trashing the lab as they vented their frustration upon finding the blasters missing. Evil Cyborg was the first to notice their arrival.

"Well, look who came to our party!" He shouted. "It's Goody Two Shoes Terra and Broccoli boy."

Raptor ceased her destructive rampage and turned in time to see the two Titans, as did Blackfire and Nightwing.

"Get them!" Blackfire shouted as she began to hurl her purple starbolts at the heroes, who separated to dodge the Tamaranian's barrage. Terra struck back at Blackfire with a volley of flying bits of concrete which the former Empress dodged with ease. At the same time Cyborg aimed both of his thermal blasters at the geomancer and fired while Nightwing threw some of his freezing disks at her. Beast Boy stared at the battle, wondering why no one was targeting him when Raptor phased out of the floor in front of him holding her hands up in front of her in a submissive gesture.

"Gar, I just want to talk about what happened at the island."

"There's nothing to talk about … _Raptor_." His voice dripped with contempt.

The sorceress's heart sank.

"You used to call me Raven."

"You aren't Raven, you whore."

She dropped to her knees.

"Gar, please forgive me. I panicked …"

"And you ditched me. Raven would never have ditched me …"

He was interrupted by a woman's scream.

"I got her!" Blackfire shouted triumphantly.

Beast Boy saw the geomancer on her knees, wincing in pain as she clutched her side.

"Let's finish her off!" Cyborg shouted.

Raptor turned around as Nightwing grabbed Terra by her scalp pulling her head back to expose her neck, brandishing an evil blade in his other hand ready to slit her throat.

"Nightwing, standby!" She ordered him. She turned back to Beast Boy.

"Come back with me and she'll be spared."

Something snapped in Beast Boy's mind at that moment and without willing it he began to morph. The Hive stared dumbfounded as he transformed into a creature they had never seen before yet knew that it was to be feared. The Beast had been unleashed.

It roared as it leaped with inhuman speed at Nightwing, batting him aside. It gently picked Terra up while Cyborg, Blackfire and Nightwing regrouped as they strategized on how best to engage The Beast. Their Garfield never had that fateful encounter with Adonis in the research lab and had never been exposed to the chemicals that had released the Beast in Beast Boy's home universe, so the mighty creature in front of them was an enigma.

"Get him!" Nightwing shouted. Curiously Raptor did not join the battle.

The three criminals attacked at once, each using their weapons simultaneously. Cyborg used his thermal blasters and his sonic cannons while Blackfire used her eye beams and Starbolts. The Beast recognized the strategy, which his own friends back home had once used to subdue him in the sewer. It would not work this time.

The Beast easily dodged their attacks even though he was still cradling Terra's form and took advantage of the first opportunity that presented itself. Nightwing had deployed his bo staff and tried to engage The Beast directly, mano a mano. Unlike the time he had engaged Robin, Cyborg and Starfire in the Tower's infirmary The Beast did not hold back and knocked Nightwing out with a lightning fast jab.

Terra summoned a boulder and shouted at The Beast.

"BB! I'm OK; you don't have to protect me! Let me get out of your way."

The Beast nodded and released her. She jumped onto the rock and flew away to a safe distance. Blackfire was at Nightwing's side while Cyborg eyed The Beast warily. Blackfire picked up her unconscious mate bridal style.

"Let's get out of here!" She shouted and promptly flew off, followed by Cyborg who ran as fast as he could.

The Beast turned its focus on Raptor who stood impassively. In a single leap he landed in front of her as Terra, who was still clutching her side, joined him. He lowered his face to her own and growled at her.

Raptor threw her arms around him.

"Please forgive me Gar, I'm so sorry! You have to believe me! I love you! I love you Gar!"

"Prove it, traitor!" Terra hissed.

Raptor and Terra locked eyes and the sorceress fell to her knees.

"I surrender."

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Raptor had been fitted with a power cancelling neck brace that Gizmo had designed and they were interrogating her in the common room. So far she had refused to share any details of where the Hive's lair was currently hidden.

"We should just ship her to Arkham." Jinx volunteered.

Raptor turned her pleading eyes to Beast Boy.

"Gar you know I can't betray them."

"What do you expect us to do? Turn you loose?" Terra complained. "Turn the Hive in and we might make a deal with you."

"You mean I can stay with Gar?"

"We're through Raptor, don't even think of it!" Beast Boy snapped at her as he took Terra's hand. "I'm with Terra now, so forget it. There is no 'us', that ended when you ditched me on the …"

Beast Boy's diatribe was interrupted by a vortex that suddenly formed in the common room.

"What is that?" See-more shouted as he cycled through his various forms of vision in a vain attempt to decipher the mysterious whirlwind.

Raptor gasped, as she recognized the nature of the vortex, but said nothing. Terra released Beast Boy's hand as she adopted her fighting stance.

"Titans! Prepare to fight!" She shouted.

As the vortex vanished it left a circular mark on the floor. The Titans collectively shrieked in surprise when they could finally discern who was standing inside the circle. A figure familiar to them all bolted from the circle and ran to Beast Boy. She wrapped her arms around him and then in an unheard of public display of affection she kissed him.

"Thank Azar you're OK Gar!" She blubbered as she hugged him again.

Meanwhile Terra cursed her rotten luck.

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Just 4 reviews for chapter 9! I guess that's what happens when you go away for a month.


	11. Raven meets Raptor

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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While Raven and Beast Boy continued to hug, Robin, Starfire and Cyborg noticed they were not alone. Instinctively all three adopted their fighting stances as they recognized their hometown adversaries.

Beast Boy saw what was about to happen and released Raven from his embrace.

"Dudes! It's not what you think!" He addressed his friends who did not relax from their stances. "They aren't the Hive. Believe it or not, these guys are the Teen Titans over here."

Raven did not hear Beast Boy's attempt to assuage his teammates concerns, as she locked eyes with Raptor. Silently, without betraying any emotion whatsoever she approached her doppelganger.

"You must be Raven." Raptor addressed her in a sing song voice.

"And you must be Raptor." Raven replied in her monotone.

"Well… that's my Hive name. They used to call me Raven." She said as she gestured at the local Titans. "So you're my Beastie Boy's old girlfriend."

"Your Beast Boy?" Raven snarled at her.

"Don't listen to her Rae, she's trying to get under your skin."

Raven frowned at her twin. Raptor smirked back.

"I have something that belongs to you." Raven said once again in her monotone as she raised her hand.

Evil Gar was suddenly encased in her dark energy. Raven gestured with her arm and the changeling went flying into Raptor's surprised figure. They lost their balance and fell to the floor, with the changeling landing on top of her. As she opened her eyes she found herself staring into his tattoo covered face, which broke into a smile.

"I'm back baby!"

Raptor pushed him off herself and stood up.

"It's not going to be so simple Raven. You think he's yours, but he's not!"

"Shut up Raptor!" Jinx screeched.

"Oh no Jinxie! She has a right to know. Don't you agree?"

"What are you talking about? Did you do something to Gar? Did you force him to do something unspeakable?"

Raptor was now grinning ear to ear.

"Unspeakable? Hardly! And I didn't force him to do anything." She replied. "In fact, he was quite eager."

Raven turned to Beast Boy, her eyes wide with shock.

"Gar, please tell me she's lying."

Beast Boy dropped his head. "Rae, believe me, I can explain."

The sound of light bulbs exploding could be heard in the distance.

Terra stepped forward.

"Raven, he thought he was stranded here. The machine that the Hive used to pull him over into our universe malfunctioned and lost the return coordinates."

"The same thing happened at our end, but we were able to figure them out." Cyborg added.

"Your counterpart said it couldn't be done." Beast Boy replied.

Raptor laughed. "Well, well. Isn't this an awkward situation?"

"Shut up you bitch! You tricked me and lied to me." He paused. "You said you loved me."

"Who says I don't?"

"You ditched me when the Titans showed up!"

"So I made a mistake. That doesn't mean I don't love you, my lean green love machine."

"I thought I was your love machine!" Evil Gar protested.

"He's way better than you." Raptor snapped back at him.

Beast Boy saw that Raven's jaw was beginning to tremble.

Terra exploded. "Just shut the hell up Raptor. You've caused enough trouble as it is."

Raptor sneered at the geomancer.

"Don't get all holier than thou with me Terra. I know you want him too. Don't deny it!"

"ENOUGH!" Raven howled. Everyone fell quiet. She angrily pointed at Beast Boy.

"You and I need to have a talk when we get home. You're in big trouble, mister."

Beast Boy's ears drooped as he gulped nervously. Raven turned to Raptor.

"But you, you're going to pay for what you did!"

Raptor crossed her arms and grinned.

"What are you so upset about Raven? I'm you and you're me. What's the difference in who bagged him first?" She paused as she continued to smile. "I didn't do anything that you didn't want to do. The only difference is that while you lacked the nerve, I didn't. Also, unlike you I wasn't ashamed of him and I didn't keep my relationship with him a secret like you did."

Raven screamed as she leaped on Raptor, knocking her down as she pummeled her with her fists. Raptor struck back with a palm strike to Raven's face, momentarily stunning her as she rolled away.

Both women stood up, wiping the blood away from their faces.

"Bring it on bitch, I'll show you who the real Raven is, the one Gar really wants." Raptor continued taunting her.

Raven began to roar and charged at her twin, but was stopped by a pair of green arms that wrapped themselves around her.

"No Rae, don't! It's what she wants you to do."

"Let me go Gar or so help me …"

Raptor laughed again. "Tell me who really loves you Gar! You know I would never threaten …"

Raptor's taunt was cut short as Terra hit her with a spinning roundhouse kick on the side of her head. The sorceress collapsed as she was knocked out cold.

"I said shut the hell up!" Terra screamed at the now supine sorceress.

Beast Boy released Raven, who angrily shoved him away. Cyborg approached his green friend.

"It's good to see you again green bean, but right now I'm so glad I'm not you."

"I'm dead meat on a stick, right?"

"Yeah, and that's if she goes easy on you."

Raven walked back to her knapsack and pulled a blue bottle out of it.

"What are you doing?" Gizmo asked.

"We're going home." She answered tersely. "I've had my fill of this frakked up universe."

Before Raven could begin to pour the magical potion to create a return portal, the Tower's alarms began to sound. Robin instinctively ran to the mission console and sat down at the controls.

"Do you mind?" Gizmo snapped at him while he pushed him over. "And what's with the traffic light suit? You gave that up here years ago."

Robin stepped away from the console with a scowl on his face.

"Why does everyone call it that?" He muttered under his breath.

Gizmo typed away at the console. He turned to Terra to report.

"It's a recorded message from the Doom Patrol."

"Play it." Terra ordered. Gizmo tapped away at a few more keys and the message was displayed on the giant screen. Mento was standing in front of the wreckage of the Doom Patrol's signature jet. Elastigirl was tending to an injured Negative Man and Robot Man was nowhere to be seen.

"_This message is for the Teen Titans. This is Mento of the Doom Patrol. We have been tailing the Brotherhood of Evil and were preparing to apprehend them when they ambushed us. I have bad news for you. The Brotherhood is headed to Jump City and they have a new black hole generator with them and it's fully functional. You have to stop them. I'm afraid we are unable to assist at this time. We estimate they will arrive in your city by tomorrow evening. I must also warn you they have amassed a large contingent of villains to assist them. They have chosen your city to be the first victim of their doomsday device. You need to evacuate the city. After that find anyone who can help you stop the Brotherhood. I apologize for not warning you sooner but we just found out …"_

At that point the transmission was cut off.

"The Brotherhood of Evil?" Terra asked in a concerned voice. "And they have help?"

"You need to contact the honorary Titans and the Titans East." Robin volunteered.

"There's no such thing here booger brain." Gizmo rebuked him.

"Be quiet Gizmo." Jinx snapped at him. "Or have you forgotten we're in trouble?"

Robin called his team into a huddle.

"Guys, we can't just walk away. There in over their heads."

"It's not our universe." Raven droned in her monotone.

"That is true, but they still need our help." Starfire added.

"Count me in. The Brotherhood of Evil, even if it's a parallel Brotherhood, could stand to have a good butt kicking."

"What he said." Beast Boy confirmed.

"Well Raven, we'll only do this if you agree."

The sorceress sighed. "And people think that being a superhero is fun. OK, count me in."

Robin turned and addressed Terra.

"We'll help you fight the Brotherhood of Evil. We have some experience with them back home. Is there anyone else we can call on?"

Terra shook her head. "No Robin, it's just us. I'm sorry."

Raptor cleared her throat.

"Excuse me. But Jump City is also the Hive-5's home and we'll be damned if some arrogant cerebellum in a jar and a pompous gorilla think they can just waltz in here and destroy it."

"Are you proposing a truce?" Mammoth asked.

"Yes Mr. Big and Dumb, that's what I'm saying. Until the Brotherhood is defeated the Hive-5 will work with you guys. After that the truce is over."

"I don't know about this. What do you think Robin?" Terra asked.

"Well, we once had a truce with Slade."

"You're kidding!" The alternate Titans shrieked in unison.

"No, we're not. He helped us defeat Trigon."

Raptor went bug eyed. "You guys beat Trigon? I'm impressed."

"Whatever." Terra replied. "How do I know I can trust you guys?"

"You don't" Evil Gar replied. "And I'll need an antidote to whatever you shot me up with. I'm useless without my powers."

"You're pretty useless with them." Raptor retorted.

"Hey! What's with you? He can't be that much better than me."

Raptor locked eyes with Raven.

"Trust me, he is." She smirked.

"THAT WILL BE ENOUGH!" Robin shouted. "If you're going to play your petty games Raptor then you and your Gar can wait in the cell block while we engage the Brotherhood."

"Sheesh, can't a girl joke?"

"No! You can't! There's too much at stake here. Are you serious or not? Because if you're not then we don't want your help."

Raptor crossed her arms.

"OK, I'm serious. What's next?"

"Contact your team and have them meet us in front of the Tower." Terra instructed her.

"Agreed." Raptor answered. "And could someone take this thing off my neck. It's giving me a rash."

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The three remaining members of the Hive-5 were greeted outside the Tower by the combined members of the Titans teams as well as Raptor and their changeling. While they were waiting the changeling tried to strike up a conversation with Beast Boy.

"So, did you have fun with her?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What's with your Raven? She never smiles or anything."

"Shut up."

"So is it true, you've never slept with her."

"Shut up."

"So tell me about this 'Beast' you can morph into. Will you teach me how?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're an asshole."

Cyborg had been eavesdropping on the two changelings and was doing everything he could to not burst out laughing when he saw a boat approach the island's dock. As soon as it docked he saw three figures emerge from the water craft and walk quickly towards them. Blackfire was the first to speak up.

"Hello sister, I see you are an upright and moral person even in the other universe as well. How boring."

"First of all, we are not sisters. Secondly it is not boring to be good."

Blackfire pointed at Robin.

"Have you slept with him yet?"

"Of course not!" Starfire replied indignantly.

Blackfire snickered. "I rest my case."

Nightwing was next and walked up to Robin. He took Robin's cape between his thumb and index finger.

"You're still wearing this?"

"Yeah, you have a problem with that?"

"Not really, it's just so … juvenile." He chuckled as he stepped aside. Dark Cyborg was next. He walked up to his counterpart.

"You gotta be kidding?" The dark twin asked mockingly.

"What? What's your problem? Cuz we can settle it right now!"

"QUIET!" Raven shouted as she rubbed her temples. She had a sudden flash back to a street scene in Jump City, many years ago when the Gordanians were threatening to obliterate Jump City and four superheroes were arguing and blaming each other. Unlike back then she wasn't so meek and didn't say 'hi'.

"This is pointless, arguing and taunting is pointless."

"So you're Raven." Blackfire interrupted. "You sure are different from our Raptor."

Raven maintained her equanimity and calmly replied in her monotone.

"That is irrelevant to the situation."

"Raven is right." Terra intervened. "If we're going to save the city we're gonna have to put our differences aside and work as a team. If you feel you can't do that then I suggest you get back in your boat and leave, because we have work to do."

The 5 members of the Hive nodded silently.

"Good, now let's go inside and we'll show you what we've planned so far."

As everyone began to file into the landmark T shaped tower Beast Boy and Raven's eyes connected. He looked away from her as he felt consumed with guilt and to his surprise Raven grabbed his arm and they stayed behind outside. Robin noticed them and nodded before he entered the building. Once they were alone she broke the silence.

"What happened, Gar?"

Beast Boy dropped his head.

"There's no excuse for what happened Rae, I'm sorry."

"I know that." She replied in her monotone. "But what happened? How did she seduce you?"

"If you want to dump me, I understand."

"Who said anything about dumping you? It's a good thing that you didn't have a fling with Terra though."

"It is?"

"Yes." She said in what was clearly a dangerous voice. "Had you messed around with her you would be learning a new meaning for pain."

"I'm … I'm confused Rae."

Raven sighed. "It's true what she said. She is me."

"No! It's not true! That's how she seduced me. She convinced me that she was you, or at least your double in this universe. But you gotta believe me Rae, she might look like you and have most of your powers, but she's nothing like you."

"Keep talking."

"She's self centered and she's a liar. She's nothing like you."

"Was it fun to have sex with her?"

He looked away and began to cry.

"I'm so sorry Rae, I really thought I would never see you again. I allowed her to be a replacement for you. If I could undo everything that happened, I would, you have to believe me."

"She used sex to manipulate you."

He nodded.

"I was such an idiot. I really believed that she loved me the way you did. But she doesn't. She never did."

"She seems pretty determined to win you back."

He shook his head.

"No, she's just being a jerk. She's trying to make her Gar jealous or something."

"You know that I would never use sex to control or manipulate you?"

He nodded. "I know."

"Good, now are you ready to be my boyfriend again?"

"You mean you forgive me?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, I do. And do you forgive me Gar?"

"Forgive you? For what?"

"For keeping our relationship a secret from our friends."

"Sure, I mean it never really bothered me."

"Don't lie to me Gar, I know it did."

"Ok, maybe a little."

"I'll take that as a yes. Now let's go inside, they're probably waiting for us."

Raven took Beast Boy's hand and they made their way into the Tower. Just before they entered the building he spoke up.

"Rae, are you and Raptor physically identical? I mean you two look the same. Their Gar doesn't look like me."

"Actually other than not being green he is identical to you. We scanned him back at the Tower, that's how we know. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm kind of curious. What I mean is, do you have a funny looking birthmark on your left …"

"Don't go there, Gar."

"Sorry Rae."

"You'll have to marry me to learn the answer to that question." She deadpanned.

"Deal!" He grinned.

Raven spun around to face him.

"Garfield Mark Logan! Did you just propose to me?"

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Thanks for the reviews.

For some reason I am very pleased with this chapter. I hope you like it as well.


	12. Raven and Terra

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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"Garfield Mark Logan! Did you just propose to me?"

Time froze for Beast Boy. That had clearly not been what he had meant to convey to his girlfriend. Her gaze was transfixed upon him, penetrating all the way to his soul as if she were an x-ray machine. He knew that his next words would perhaps be the most important ones he would possibly ever utter in his life. His mouth felt dry as anxiety began to spread throughout his body.

At first he weighed carefully what he would say. Raven had just forgiven him for his fling with Raptor and truth be told he still couldn't believe his good luck. He had been certain that either she would teach him a lesson he would never forget or she would never speak to him again. But no, she had forgiven him, and while she had not exactly received him with open arms, she was holding his hand.

At first he tried to figure out what is was that she wanted to hear. He knew that most girls still dreamed of getting married, wearing a flowing white gown. After all the Bridal Superstore in Jump City couldn't be wrong. But Raven wasn't like 'most girls', that much he knew. She couldn't be obsessed with that, could she?

"Gar?"

If there was one thing Beast Boy prided himself with was that he was truthful. Even the deception they had been playing on their friends, keeping their relationship a secret, had been at Raven's insistence. While he still loved playing pranks on her he had not been deceptive with her a single time since they began to date, and he knew that he could never lie to her. Never. But how would he tell her? What if she got angry? She had just let him out of the dog house, and she could just as easily toss him back into the dog pound and throw away the key.

As he gazed back into her amazing amethyst colored eyes he knew there was only one acceptable course of action.

"Gar, are you OK?"

With a slight jerk he snapped back to reality.

"Rae, I … I can't lie to you. That wasn't a marriage proposal."

"I see." She replied in her monotone. "Tell me, why not?"

The changeling gulped, bracing himself for whatever punishment she would mete out to him.

"It's … just the wrong time for that. It's too soon and we're in this crazy backwards universe. I know you're still upset with me and it's, well I think I would be doing it for the wrong reason if I asked you to marry me now."

Raven saw his ears droop and she replied in her usual emotion free voice.

"You're quite right, even though I have forgiven you I am still very upset with you and for that very reason I would have declined your offer."

Raven felt a wave of both relief and disappointment ooze out of him.

"Of course, that doesn't mean I would not accept such an offer in the future."

Upon hearing that the changeling perked up.

"Thanks Rae, you're the best. I don't deserve you."

"You're right, you don't deserve me."

She reached out with her hands and cupped his face with them. She then drew him in and gave him a deep and long kiss, after which she released him.

"But I'll be damned to let either of them have you. You're mine Gar, don't ever forget that."

"Either of them?" He asked in a confused voice.

Raven looked him in the eyes.

"Terra has been hanging around you a lot, hasn't she?"

"Well yeah, but nothing happened between us Rae, I haven't even kissed her. I swear."

"I know. But she wants you Gar, she definitely wants you. Unlike Raptor she's polite and knows her boundaries, but believe me Gar if I dumped you Terra would pick you up before you hit the floor. And that's not going to happen."

The changeling blushed before responding in a shy voice.

"Thanks Rae, I know this might sound strange, but you have a way of making me feel special."

Beast Boy thought he heard her chuckle as they made their way to the elevator in the Tower lobby.

"Gar, I was thinking…"

"Yeah?"

"When we get home … I might just let you see my birthmark." She said as she pressed the button labeled "Common Room" inside the elevator.

He perked up.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. But if you tell anyone …"

"Rae, you know I'm not a kiss and tell kind of guy."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"No, you're not."

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As the sliding doors opened in the Common Room it revealed the three teams assembled, seated around a large circular conference table while Robin and Cyborg were briefing the assembly about the Brotherhood of Evil and their standard mode of operation. Cyborg had popped up a projector lens from his shoulder and was displaying pictures of the Brotherhood and some of their prior hideouts.

"… they typically set up lairs in spacious underground facilities. The Brain and Mallah are sticklers for cleanliness and order, so we can eliminate any sewer facilities as likely hideouts…"

The chromatically challenged couple entered the room, hand in hand. The first thing Raven noticed was that Raptor glaring at them, or to be more precise, at her. She released Beast Boy's hand and wrapped her arm around his waist, and he reciprocated the gesture by draping his arm around her shoulder. Raptor's glare morphed into a scowl. Alternate Gar was seated next to her and said nothing even though he was painfully aware of what was going on. Starfire also noticed the intimate gesture and smiled approvingly at her friends while she gently clapped her hands.

"Oh X'Hal, she's even worse than my sister." Blackfire moaned quietly to Nightwing. "How much do you wanna bet that she's wearing 'Hello Kitty' underpants?"

"She does seem even more naïve than your sister. But that's not surprising, just look at her boyfriend Blackfire. I feel embarrassed to share my genome with him."

Robin cleared his throat.

"Nightwing, Blackfire is there anything you would like to share regarding the Brotherhood of Evil?"

Nightwing grinned a cocky smile before answering.

"We once asked if we could join them."

"And?"

"They said we were too young and immature." Blackfire completed the report. "Those stuck up pricks, who do they think they are?"

By this point Raven and Beast Boy had seated themselves at the large conference table.

"That's very interesting Blackfire, but irrelevant to this mission. Now if you and Nightwing would please be quiet and pay attention I might be able to finish this presentation before the city is destroyed."

A round of chuckles and giggles could be heard around the table. They quickly died out and Robin continued.

"Terra and I have identified three possible locations where the Brotherhood is likely to set up shop. The first one is the old nuclear fallout shelter downtown. It's a fortress of 10 underground levels of reinforced concrete with steel bulkhead doors; it's been abandoned for years. Terra will lead her team to investigate that facility."

Terra nodded in acknowledgement.

"The second site is a cluster of abandoned missile silos that were decommissioned and emptied out after the cold war ended. They were sold to private investors and apparently it is currently unoccupied. Raptor will lead her team to investigate that site."

Raptor gave Robin an exaggerated military salute as she acknowledged him.

"And I will lead my team to investigate a large underground cavern that is about 2 kilometers north of downtown…"

Beast Boy leaped to his feet.

"Rob, is that …"

Robin answered before the question was complete.

"Yes Beast Boy, it's Terra's Cave."

Terra gave Robin a perplexed look until she remembered the story the green changeling had told her about her counterpart in the other universe.

Robin continued.

"You all have 20 minutes to get ready. Titans dismissed."

"He's a regular G.I. Joe." Blackfire whispered to her Cyborg.

"If by that you mean annoying, then I agree with you 100%."

As the common room emptied Terra approached Raven and Beast Boy.

"What does she want?" Beast Boy muttered.

"I guess we're going to find out Gar."

Raven watched as the blond geomancer approached. She hadn't seen her since that fateful day when she had turned into stone, which had been years before. The sorceress could not help but notice that Terra had bloomed into a buxom young lady and she knew that regardless of how polite and proper the blonde had become she was every bit a threat to her as Raptor was.

"Hey guys, looks like you're cool with each other, right?"

Raven answered in her signature monotone, her face betraying no emotion, which clearly unnerved Terra.

"If you mean that Gar and I have reconciled, then the answer is yes."

Terra examined Raven carefully. Physically she was identical to Raptor. Yet she seemed like an entirely different person. She rarely exteriorized any emotions and she spoke in that irritating monotone which highlighted her gravelly voice. Terra wondered what attracted the green changeling to this odd, strange woman.

"BB, do you mind if I have a one on one with Raven?"

Beast Boy was instantly curious, but he knew that Terra was politely asking him to leave them.

"No problem. In fact I'm kind hungry. Would you like a sandwich Rae?"

"Yes please, but not a tofu sandwich."

Beast Boy grinned as he marched off to the kitchen.

"One PBJ coming right up."

Once he was out of earshot Terra spoke up.

"He won't make a sandwich with meat for you, will he?"

Raven gestured at the empty chair next to her, inviting Terra to sit with her.

"No he won't; but you don't really want to talk about sandwiches, do you Terra?"

Terra sat before replying.

"No, I don't." She paused. "Look Raven, I just want to clear some things up."

"What kind of things?"

Raven's face was still expressionless and Terra wondered if that would change after she had her say.

"Difficult things Raven; complicated things."

"You want to talk about Gar?" She deadpanned.

Terra nodded her head nervously.

"Yeah, that's what I want to talk about … look, you probably already figured out that I like him a lot …"

"As did your counterpart back home."

"Yeah, BB told me about her and how you and she didn't see eye to eye."

"That would be an understatement." Raven replied with a very slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I know. Look Raven, I'm not a threat, OK?"

"You're not?"

"Of course not." Terra replied indignantly. "I'm not gonna lie to you and say I haven't fallen for him like a brick, because I have. What can I say? He has a "je ne sais quoi" over blond geomancers …"

"The effect seems to work both ways." Raven answered. Her monotone was still present but was fading quickly.

"Raven, what I'm trying to say is that I won't get between you and BB. I know he's been your boyfriend for a while and it would be pointless for me to even try to steal him from you."

"And why would that be?"

Terra smiled.

"Because he's crazy about you."

Raven crossed her arms.

"And how would you know that?"

Terra beamed even more.

"Because he told me himself!"

Terra had to suppress a laugh at Raven's sudden shock.

"He told you? Why would he do that?"

"Because he was heartbroken. He thought he was never going to see you again."

Raven turned away, it was clear to Terra that she was disturbed by her words.

"Which is why he turned to her." Raven answered.

"Don't be too hard on him Raven. Raptor is very different from you. For one thing she doesn't have to suppress her emotions like you do."

"Please don't remind me of that."

"Yet the two of you are also very similar."

"How so?"

"Beyond the obvious? Sure, she's physically identical to you and that's probably what lured him in at first. But she's a lot like you in many other ways. She's very intelligent, just like you. She's also very passionate, like you. The only difference is that she exteriorizes her passion and you don't. And just like you she's drawn to him, to the point of altering her behavior."

"You mean he was going to bring her out of the "dark side"?" Raven asked mockingly.

"I'm not joking Raven. I think he could have reformed her, brought out the good in her …"

"Like he did with your counterpart."

Terra leaned forward and nodded.

"You're the lucky one Raven, he's yours …"

"But he was hers first."

"Hey! Don't dwell on that Raven. You know he has no feelings for her anymore."

Raven sniffled.

"I'm not so sure about that Terra. I'll never be able to compete with her."

"Baloney!"

Raven shook her head sadly.

"They were lovers Terra. I know I'll never be as good as she is in that regard."

"You don't have to be like her Raven. BB loves you; he would always talk about you when we went out on dates. Trust me Raven, he never spoke about Raptor like that, never."

Raven took Terra's hand.

"Thank you Terra. I'm glad we can be friends in this universe."

"Maybe when you get home, you should give her another chance."

Raven raised an eyebrow in response to Terra's remark.

"Are you willing to give Raptor another chance?"

"Touché. But you never know, maybe she'll redeem herself against the Brotherhood?"

"I guess anything is possible. Where's Gar? He promised me a sandwich."

Raven swiveled her chair and saw Beast Boy in the kitchen, talking with Raptor.

"She just can't leave him alone!" Raven growled as she leaped out of her chair.

As Raven approached Raptor raised her hand in a placating gesture.

"We were just talking about the Brotherhood of Evil Raven, ask Gar if you don't believe me."

Raven ignored her remark and walked past Gar as if he wasn't present. She didn't stop until she was face to face with her doppelganger.

"Stay away from him Raptor. If you don't I will teach you a new definition for agony!"

"I will." Raptor replied. "But after the mission is over the gloves come off sister!"

Beast Boy watched the exchange with a very worried face.

"Oh you're on Raptor. I am so going to enjoy kicking your butt …"

Raven and Raptor were interrupted by Robin, who had returned to the common room.

"Ok ladies, how about we save the butt kicking for the Brotherhood of Evil?"


	13. Three Teams, One Objective

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

"Ok ladies, how about we save the butt kicking for the Brotherhood of Evil?"

The two sorceresses turned at the same time and glared at the Boy Wonder.

"Listen, if the two of you can't put your differences aside I'll have both of you sit out the mission."

Raven exploded.

"You can't be serious Robin!"

"I am Raven, you're clearly agitated and quite frankly you're in no mental shape to go against the Brotherhood. And as for you Raptor, you're too damn disruptive."

"Oh chill out bird boy. We won't even be together during the mission."

"It doesn't matter Raptor. I don't want either of you distracted with anything. I want both of you to bury the hatchet right now. Beast Boy is Raven's boyfriend and you have your own Garfield. There won't be any showdown between the two of you. Have I made myself clear?"

A dead silence hung in the air.

"Yes Robin, I agree." The girl with the monotone answered.

"Of course you do Raven. He just handed Beast Boy to you on a silver platter."

"HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR!" Robin shouted even louder.

Raptor smiled slyly.

"Whatever you say Robin."

The Boy Wonder glared at the parallel sorceress. He was still unnerved by all their counterparts. Nightwing was beyond disturbing as was the local version of Cyborg. But Raptor gave him the willies. Here was a half demoness with Raven's powers but who lacked his dear friend's sense of ethics and morality. Robin would entrust Raven with his own life any day under any situation, but Raptor was an enigma to him. He had no idea on how much trust, if any, he should give her.

And yet he was going to trust Raven's gray twin to lead her team of criminals on a mission to save the city. Sure he had agreed to a truce with Slade when he needed the one eyed man's help to rescue Raven from Trigon's pit of despair. But just as he had not really trusted Slade back then he didn't trust Raptor either. Unfortunately now, as back then, he had no choice. There was no Justice League to call upon for help and the handful of superheroes around the world were next to impossible to contact on short notice. It was now or never and Robin knew they would have to make do with the help they had.

"Assemble your team Raptor. We're all deploying in 5 minutes." Robin grunted. "Terra, you know what you have to do. Raven, Beast Boy, let's get ready."

The three teams assembled in the common room and self segregated into their respective groups. There was no playful banter or trash talking across groups. The mood was somber as the grim reality of the situation sank in. Robin stepped away from his team and was joined by Terra and Raptor.

"Ok teams, we are all that stands between this city and its complete annihilation and destruction. Terra contacted the mayor earlier today and there is a mass evacuation in progress. While we don't know what the Brotherhood is up to at this point it's not likely that the evacuation will be complete before the black hole generator is in place and activated."

Robin paused and stared at the assembled teams. He nodded at Terra and she continued with the speech.

"I don't need to tell you that there's no room for error. We won't get a second chance if we fail and we will probably perish with the city if we do. Also, there was a report of a jail break, so expect to encounter the usual suspects in addition to whoever the Brotherhood brought with them from outside Jump City."

She nodded at Raptor, who stepped forward.

"Some of us aren't used to being heroes, but what exactly is a hero? Is a hero merely a self righteous do gooder? The answer is no. A hero is someone who rises to the occasion when least expected, and that's what the Hive will do today."

Robin stepped forward and gave the final words.

"Good luck Titans. Be safe and be successful."

Raven and Raptor each opened portals which their teams stepped into while Terra led her team to the hanger where their version of the T-Ship awaited.

It had begun.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

A portal appeared inside the missile silo complex, which was dark and foreboding. Cyborg turned on his built in flood light while the others turned on their miniature flash lights which were too weak to light up the cavernous interior of the complex. As the Hive began to explore the facility their footsteps echoed throughout the large room.

"This was a bad idea Raptor, why the hell did you volunteer us for this?" The changeling whispered to his ex-lover.

The sorceress glared at him.

"I'm sure Beast Boy isn't whining about this like you are. Why can't you be more like him?"

"Uh, cuz we don't wanna get killed?" Cyborg replied.

Raptor felt a surge of anger swell through her. She had briefly been a Teen Titan and knew what it meant to be a hero. Unfortunately her rag tag band of thieves had no such background or experience.

"If the city is destroyed there won't be anything for us to steal, right?" Nightwing added.

"We could move on somewhere else you know." Blackfire commented.

"But Jump City is our turf." Nightwing added. "If we move we'll end up butting heads with someone else. And I'll bet we'll be pardoned if we save the city, which will give us time to regroup and plan new heists."

"You guys are some role models." Raptor said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"You really are smitten with Beast Boy, aren't you Raptor?" Blackfire snapped. "You should just forget about him sweetheart, Raven's here now and she's staked her claim on him and it seems that he likes it that way."

"Come on babe, I'm back!" Garfield interrupted. "What more could you want?"

"A man." Raptor muttered under her breath.

Suddenly a loud click was heard, as if a large switch had made contact. The room lit up and the Hive saw that they were surrounded by villains. Some were locals like Cinderblock and Control Freak and others were unfamiliar, clearly imports. Raptor recognized one of them by his purple suit and his maniacal laugh.

"You're the Joker! What are you doing here?" Raptor hissed.

The Gotham villain erupted into his signature maniacal laughter. Once he regained his composure he replied.

"Let's just say that the Brain and his pet monkey made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"You idiot!" Raptor screamed. "Do you have any idea of what he's going to do?"

The Joker feigned indignation at Raptor's remark.

"You know Raptor, I was going to ask you nicely if you wanted to join our team. But it seems you young brats need to be taught some manners before you can join the Brotherhood of Evil, wouldn't you agree Harley?"

The Joker's shapely moll stepped out of the shadows with a rubber chicken in her hands. It was then that the Hive noticed that all of their opponents were also wielding rubber chickens.

"Sure thing Mistah J." Harley replied before she raised her rubber chicken in the air, preparing to throw it.

"Hey toots! The joke's on you!"

With no warning the Hive were pelted with the rubber chickens, which exploded upon contact, spewing a noxious gas into the air. Raptor saw her teammates fall one by one to the ground. She attempted to form a portal in which to escape. The dark circle began to form but it was too late as the sorceress began to feel light headed. She staggered towards the portal but felt her legs go rubbery on her as her vision became blurry. She never made it to portal and collapsed onto the floor.

The Joker turned to his moll.

"Well that was easy, wouldn't you say so Harley?"

"Right a rooney puddin!"

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Terra was at the helm of the T-Ship as it flew over the downtown area. From her vantage point she could see the gridlock that was chocking Jump City as its panic stricken citizenry were trying to escape the impending doom that awaited the city. The more impatient ones had given up and abandoned their vehicles on the city streets and were now fleeing on foot. The city's trademark bridge was crawling with vehicles and pedestrians. It was painfully obvious to the geomancer that only a small fraction of the populace would be able to escape from the city in time to avoid the black hole.

Terra landed the T-Ship on the roof top of the city's civic center building that housed the huge underground bunker. It had been built during the cold war as a refuge and command center for the local government in the case of a nuclear attack. It had been decommissioned and mothballed for over ten years now.

As the Titans climbed out of the T-Ship they were greeted by the local police chief.

"Thank goodness you're here." He said breathlessly. "There's something in the fallout shelter." He informed them as they made their way down the stairs from the roof top.

"What do you mean by 'something'?" Terra asked.

"I'm not sure." He replied. "I send a special ops team inside and I lost contact with them. They were twenty of my best men and women, dressed in protective armor and armed with plasma rifles. The last thing we heard was that they were under attack by an unseen opponent."

Terra frowned, this was not good news, but at least it meant they weren't wasting their time at the shelter. She retrieved her communicator from her belt and tried to contact Robin. There was no answer. She then tried hailing Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg and finally Starfire but had the same result: only static on the channel. She then tried connecting with Raptor and her team but had the same result.

Terra snapped her communicator shut while ordering the butterflies in her stomach to settle down. There had to be a simple explanation for not being able to contact them, one that wasn't tragic.

As they approached the entrance to the bunker she shook the thought away. They were the city's guardians and they had a job to do, that's what it all came down to. She had to remain sharp and focused otherwise they would meet with disaster and at this point that wasn't an option.

"See-more, what's going on in there? Can you see anything?"

The young man quickly flipped through his different vision modes as he tried to peek inside of the shelter. As he switched modes a frown also began to form on his face.

"I'm sorry Terra, there's too much lead lining on the walls and the floors. I just can't see through it."

Terra crossed her arms.

"Radiation shielding. I guess that means we're going in blind ,team. We need to be extra careful and to stay sharp."

Terra nodded at some police sentries who stood by the bunker's entrance. One of them was standing next to a control panel and she punched in a code. The huge bunker doors slowly swung open and Terra, followed by Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth and See-more entered the dark shelter.

"Godspeed Teen Titans." The other guard whispered as the doors closed behind them.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Gizmo bellyached as he activated his spider legs which elevated him above the others. He also enabled a flood light as the police were unable to turn on the lights into the shelter as the computer control system had been hacked into. The other Titans also turned on their own flashlights (electric torches for my non US readers).

See-more resumed scanning now that they were inside and was once again quickly flipping through his different view modes.

"See anything?" Jinx asked.

"I don't see anything on this level, nor on the level below. Beyond that I can't see. The internal walls and floors are also shielded, but not as much as the outside walls."

"I'm not detecting anything on my sensors either." Gizmo added. "There's just way too much lead in these walls."

Mammoth sniffed the air.

"I don't smell anything either."

"What were you expecting to smell? Food?" Gizmo snapped at him.

"Enough!" Terra growled at the bald midget. "This is no time to bicker. We all need to stay sharp."

As expected the quarreling stopped and the team continued to explore the top level. After finding it to be empty they made their way to the second level, which was also empty, as were the third and fourth levels.

Upon entering the fifth level Jinx whispered to Terra.

"I don't like this Terra; it's a long way out of here if something goes wrong."

"There is no turning back Jinx. If we fail, millions will die. We can't retreat."

"I knew you were going to say that." The pink haired enchantress whispered back.

As they explored the level See-more stayed in the rear guard, continuously scanning the surroundings. Other than his gift of super vision the young man had no powers that would come in handy during a fight. Terra had spent time training him in basic martial arts but he proved to be only an average student. He could fend for himself against your average street thug but super villains were another matter altogether.

See-more's job on the fifth level was complicated by the fact that unlike the previous four levels it was cluttered with all sorts of junk. There were boxes full of freeze dried food rations and ultra pasteurized bottled water, no doubt left behind in case the shelter ever needed to be used during an unexpected emergency. There were also storage cabinets full of supplies everywhere. As they made their way around a corner there were 4 large tires stacked against a wall. See-more stopped and examined them carefully to ensure that nobody was hiding in them. He flipped through his vision mode and confirmed that the stack was unoccupied. He turned around and saw that the team had made its way down the hall. As he began to sprint to catch up with them he felt what seemed to be a rubber hose wrap itself around him.

Panicking he fought back but whatever was wrapping itself around him was very strong and he was quickly trapped.

"Help!" was the only word he was able to get out before he was gagged and dragged away at lightning speed.

Terra was the first to hear his cry for help and ran in the direction where he called from, the others quickly followed her. It was in vain however, as there was no trace of See-more. He was gone.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

A dark portal opened inside the dark cave's entrance and the Titans, lead by Robin emerged from the black hole. All five were in fighting stance, ready for whatever might be there waiting for them. The entrance was, as expected, empty with no one waiting to challenge them.

"Report." Robin commanded his teammates.

"My sensors aren't picking up any life forms, but their range is short especially with all this rock around us."

"I don't smell anything usual."

"And I'm not sensing anything." Raven added.

"As expected." Robin concluded. "Let's move in. If this place is empty I want to find out sooner rather than later so we can join and help the others."

"We're gonna be unable to contact the others once we go in. Unlike our cave back home this one's walls are full of metal ore. Our communicators' radio waves won't be able to penetrate it." Cyborg reported.

"So we won't be able to call for help. Everyone stay sharp, we can't afford to make a single mistake." Robin ordered his team as he led them deep in the bowels of the cave. They descended quickly through the cavern encountering no resistance or any sign of the Brotherhood of Evil.

Beast Boy took Raven's hand and squeezed it. She was able to sense that he was agitated.

"What's the matter Gar? I can tell that you're ready to jump out of your skin. I can't sense anything around us. Is something wrong?"

The changeling looked his girlfriend in the eyes.

"I don't know Rae. It's my animal instincts, they're going crazy."

"Robin!" Raven shouted. "Gar's sensing something."

"What is it?"

"I don't know Rob, maybe it's just nerves but my animal side is sensing that there's danger ahead. I don't know any more than that, sorry."

"It's OK Beast Boy, at least now we know we didn't waste our time coming here. Let's keep moving forward but be extra careful." The Boy Wonder replied as Starfire caught up with him.

"I do not like this, my beloved. This feels like a trap."

"I know Star, it does, but we can't turn back. We have to stop the Brotherhood of Evil."

"I agree. And we will be victorious."

Robin smiled at his girlfriend. "Star, with you beside me, there's nothing I can't do."

The Tamaranian gave her beau an appreciative smile as they continued to penetrate into the cave. After 10 more minutes they reached the end, the place where in the other universe Terra had her final showdown with Slade and had unintentionally triggered the underground super volcano. Unlike last time this place had never been Slade's lair and it was dark in the large underground room.

"We need some light in here." Raven droned.

Starfire conjured two large starbolts while the others put their flashlights way and produced some freestanding electric floodlights which they turned on. As the bright lights flooded the cavern the 5 heroes gasped.

The cavern walls and floor were strewn with seismic charges, at least one hundred of them. More than enough to trigger the super volcano that lay dormant under Jump City.

"Cyborg! Can these charges be deactivated?" Robin shrieked.

The tin man was examining one cautiously. The charges were embedded into the rock and would take too long to remove.

"Yeah, they can be deactivated, but we have to hurry. They're set to go off in 10 minutes."

"How many are there?" Beast Boy inquired anxiously.

"I have counted them. There are 125 charges in the cave." Starfire informed the team.

"That's 25 per person, that's 24 seconds to deactivate each charge." Raven added.

Robin was already on all fours, deactivating his first bomb.

"Then we'd better hurry up. Titans go!"

Starfire and Raven flew up to the upper walls and began to deactivate the charges that were encased up there . Cyborg began to work on the lower walls while Robin and Beast Boy worked on the floor as fast as they could.

Time was not on their side.


	14. Agaist all odds

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

* * *

Terra stared down the darkened hallway, her eyes straining to see as she moved her puny flashlight around, scanning for any sign of her missing teammate.

"See-more!" She shouted repeatedly but he did not answer.

"Gizmo! I need some light here, now!" Terra howled.

The bald genius turned around, the long mechanical spider legs that had grown from his backpack clicking on the concrete floor. A second flood light popped out of his metallic backpack and lit up the hallway. The Titans quickly scanned the corridor. There was no sign of a struggle or of See-more.

"Anything on your scanners Gizmo?"

The young midget examined a monitor that had popped out of his pack.

"Too much interference, I'm not picking up anything."

It was then that Terra noticed something was missing.

"The tires!" She screeched. "The tires are gone!"

"What are you talking about?" Jinx asked. "What tires?"

"They were over there." Terra responded as she pointed at the empty space they used to occupy.

"Sludge! She's right! That can only mean one thing…"

"Madam Rouge" Mammoth concluded.

Terra gritted her teeth in frustration.

"We'll rescue him, but we have a mission to complete. And we know that the Brotherhood is here." Terra sighed.

"And we know that we walked into a trap." Jinx added.

"She's right." Gizmo agreed. "We need to get out of here."

Terra balled her fists.

"We can't, the city is counting on us. We have to stop them."

"I knew you were going to say that." Jinx moaned. "But you're right, we have to move forward."

Terra led her team down the stairwell to the next level, which was strewn with debris. Storage cabinets had been ripped to shreds and their contents littered the floor, a veritable minefield of junk. The 4 remaining heroes cautiously made their way around the sixth level, checking each room one by one. There was no one to be found anywhere.

"OK team, it's on to the next level." The geomancer whispered.

"They're watching us, I just know it." Gizmo moaned. "We're walking into a trap."

"I thought we had already established that." Terra said crossly as she opened the stairwell door.

"In that case you can go first!" Gizmo snapped at her while he pointed at the dark stairwell.

Terra harrumphed and plunged into the dark stairwell, illuminating it with her flashlight. She was followed promptly by Jinx and Mammoth and they made their way down to the next level. It was then that Jinx noticed that Gizmo was missing.

"Terra, where's Gizmo?"

Terra gritted her teeth.

"That no good coward!" She grumbled as she made her way back up to level 6. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"You and me both!" Jinx howled as she ran after Terra. Mammoth stayed behind while aiming his flashlight down towards the bottom level.

Terra and Jinx burst out of the stairwell, both ready to give the cowardly genius a tongue lashing. But he was nowhere to be found.

"Gizmo! This isn't funny!" Jinx called out to him.

Terra's face went pale.

"They got him."

"What?" Jinx howled.

"You heard me, they captured Gizmo." She replied as she headed back to the stairwell.

"Where the hell are you going Terra?"

"Where else? We have to find that black hole generator. Mammoth is waiting for us."

Jinx followed Terra back into the stairwell.

There was no sign of Mammoth.

"Great! Just great!" Jinx moaned. "What the hell is happening? We're the Teen Titans! We're getting picked off one by one."

"Not anymore!" Terra snarled as she balled her fists. Her eyes glowed yellow and the remaining stairs crumbled, leaving an unobstructed path to the bottom level. Terra gestured with her hand and a large slab of concrete floated in front of them. The two Titans hopped on board and Terra began their descent.

"We're getting to the bottom of this!" The geomancer growled.

Terra guided their perch to the bottom level, landing in front of the door. The two stepped off and Terra grabbed the door's handle, preparing to open it.

"I hope you know what you're doing Terra."

"So do I Jinx."

Terra pulled the door open and the Titanic pair stormed into the bottom level.

* * *

"Cyborg! How are we doing?" Robin shouted as he finished deactivating one of the seismic charges.

"Not good man! We're already a minute behind schedule and we only have five minutes left!"

Robin clenched his teeth. There were too many bombs to defuse and it was taking longer than they had hoped. The memory of the other cave, seething in lava and crumbling as it prepared to erupt came flashing back to him. The smell of sulphur and the trembling earth almost seemed to be present. And to make matters worse Terra was not there to stop it.

"We have to work faster! We can't allow this to happen!"

Without looking up from his current bomb Beast Boy shouted: "Cyborg! What's the minimum number of charges needed to trigger the volcano?"

"Ten!" He shouted back.

"Then why did they set so many of them?" Raven shouted as she defused a bomb and quickly moved on to the next one. "Isn't this overkill?"

Beast Boy leaped to his feet.

"You know what that means? We're meant to be kept busy! We just …"

"…fell into a trap." An old voice finished his sentence. "A very old trap, but when you are as old as I am you've seen them all.'

Starfire gasped.

"General Immortus!"

The ancient warrior chuckled as he was flanked by his robotic soldiers.

"We can take him!" Robin shouted.

Immortus chuckled.

"Perhaps you can Robin, but who will defuse the charges if you do?"

Robin stared down at the charge he was working on. The timer indicated that 4 minutes and 23 seconds remained.

"You fiend! You're going to kill everyone in the city!"

Immortus grinned. "Such are the spoils of war. Collateral damage is an acceptable price for victory."

Robin turned his back on the General.

"Titans! Continue defusing and do it fast!"

The five heroes ignored Immortus's presence and went back to work.

"Your heroism is heartwarming, if futile." He said as he pressed a button on control pad in his hand. The phalanx of mechanical soldiers around him parted and second set of robots made their way to the front. Unlike the other droids they were armed not with rifles but with strange futuristic weapons which they aimed at the Titans. Robin saw them first and jumped to his feet.

"Titans! Keep defusing, I'll stop the soldiers."

Robin threw a volley of his exploding disks at the leading soldiers, destroying them. Unfortunately even more appeared. The Boy Wonder attacked them as he bombarded them with bird-a-rangs, freezing disks and other weapons, but they kept coming. He quickly exhausted his weapons and drew his bo-staff and engaged the robots in hand to hand combat.

"Cyborg! Time?" He shouted as he smashed a droid's head open with his staff.

"Three minutes! We're not gonna make it!"

"You have to! Failure is not an option!"

The other four Titans picked up the pace as Robin continued to battle the droids. He was gaining the upper hand as Immortus finally appeared to be running out of his metallic warriors but his luck finally ran out. Once of the droids he had smashed earlier was still partially functional. It lay on the ground and raised its one good arm taking aim at Robin. The rifle vomited its energy discharge and hit the Boy Wonder point blank.

Much to his surprise Robin was neither dead nor injured but he fell to the ground. He was fully conscious but was paralyzed from the neck down. He then heard more discharges and heard each of his teammates, one by one, fall to the ground as well.

"Cyborg, how many are left?"

"Twenty five." The fallen tin man replied. "And there's less than a minute left."

"We have failed." Starfire cried as she too was crumpled into a heap on the ground.

"Aren't you going to escape Immortus?" Raven yelled. The General's only response was a chuckle.

With a monumental effort Raven turned her head so she was facing Beast Boy. At that moment the remaining charge timers began their final countdown in mechanical electronic voice.

"_20, 19, 18 …"_

"Do you love me Gar?"

"_14, 13, 12…"_

"I do Raven. Do you love me?"

"_9, 8, 7…"_

With tears in her eyes she replied.

"Yes Gar, I love you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that more often."

"It's OK Rae, it's OK." He replied in a soothing voice. She could hear the calm in his voice. They were going to die together. Her only regret was that she couldn't embrace him as the end approached.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"

There were no explosions.

Immortus laughed.

"Like I said, I've seen every trick in the book! Sergeant! Take them into custody!"

He then turned to Raven.

"That was very touching sorceress and very informative. You know what they say my dear: knowledge is power."

A platoon of robots stepped forward and picked up the 5 paralyzed heroes. Raven struggled to summon her dark energy but was too weak to succeed. The robots carried them away, followed by Immortus, as his self satisfied laugher was echoing throughout that cave.

* * *

Terra and Jinx charged into the dark hallway, their calamitous footfalls echoing throughout the bottom level. Unlike the previous levels this one was a single large room and was completely empty. There were no boxes, no cabinets, nothing. All there was to be seen were the large columns that supported the ceiling above, which were evenly distributed throughout the level.

"We've been had." Jinx complained. "There's nothing here."

"We could explore the levels we skipped." Terra volunteered.

Jinx shook her head. "If they were to set up shop, it would be here. They were planning on ambushing us and it worked. Now were 10 stories underground and the only way out is through that stairwell. We'll be sitting ducks!"

Terra bit her lip in frustration. Beast Boy had warned her to not underestimate the Brotherhood of Evil, and she had failed to heed his advice and was now paying for it. Half her team and been captured and they were trapped in the bowels of the bunker.

"We can tunnel our way out. They aren't expecting that. We'll get out and regroup with the others. Hopefully they've been more successful than we were."

Jinx kept looking over her shoulder, as if expecting yet another ambush to materialize in the obviously empty room.

"Sounds good to me Terra, let's get the hell out of here."

The geomancer nodded and her eyes began to glow yellow. She aimed her palms at the heavily fortified concrete wall which began to crumble, revealing a bed rock of solid granite. The tunneling proceeded at a slow pace and Jinx watched as the granite slowly crumbled and fell away. Soon the tunnel was deep enough for them to enter and they did, while Terra changed the direction upwards towards the surface. The tunneling generated a great deal of noise and Jinx kept looking over her shoulder, expecting to see someone there.

The tunnel's upward slope slowly increased and they would soon not be able to see its entrance. Jinx looked back one more time and gasped. Mallah was standing at the tunnel's entrance and he was holding a strange cannon like weapon in his arms which was aimed straight at them.

"Now that was very rude of you trying to escape like this, not to mention not very sporting. But it is of no matter now, as you cannot escape!"

Terra spun around, ready to launch a barrage of rocks at the gorilla. Jinx was also casting a hex to throw at him. But they were too slow and there was nowhere to run. Mallah fired the weapon and the two Titans fell to the ground unconscious.

Madam Rouge appeared and entered the tunnel to retrieve the two Titans. She quickly emerged with a girl under each arm.

"That was easy." Mallah grunted with satisfaction.

"And entertaining." Rouge added. "They were the last ones. The Brain will be pleased."

Mallah chuckled. "Yes, yes he will be. Evil has prevailed."


	15. The Rejected Deal

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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Robin felt himself being picked up from the ground and then slung over a droids's shoulder. He swung his head around to see that the same thing was happening to his teammates, except for Cyborg who was lifted by two droids who grabbed him by his wrists and ankles. Before Robin could see any more of what was happening another droid covered his head with a burlap bag. He then felt his carrier begin to walk at a brisk pace.

Robin was stunned as his team had been caught completely off guard by Immortus' trap. He fought back against the paralysis that engulfed him but his efforts were futile as his muscles refused to obey the commands his brain sent to them. He felt wave after wave of frustration and anger seep through his mind. He should have recognized the trap that had been set, and it didn't help that Beast Boy sensed that something was wrong before he did.

As his captors continued to march he felt then warmth of the sun falling on his body and overheard Immortus reporting back to the Brain over a communicator, which confirmed to him that they had emerged from the cave.

"Yes master, I have them and they are all unspoiled, but I have some unexpected good news: The sorceress and the changeling are a couple."

"That. Is. Good. News. Immortus. It. Will. Enhance. My. Plan. Do. Hurry. Back. We. Are. Growing. Impatient." The Brain replied in his synthetic vocoder voice.

"Yes master, our transport is drawing near. We will soon arrive. Immortus out."

Robin was able to discern the tell tale sound of a helicopter approaching. Within a few moments the chopper landed and Robin grunted as his was tossed onboard the flying machine; landing on the hard floor inside. He heard four more thuds after his own.

"Titans, is everyone OK?" Robin shouted. Before the others could reply he was kicked in the gut by one of the droids, knocking his wind out.

"No talking!" Immortus barked at him. "You heard what I told the Brain. You are all unspoiled, so leave it at that. The next Titan to speak will be thrown out of the helicopter, and it will be a long way down."

Robin was slowly able to begin breathing again. His mind raced. It was obvious what was awaiting them: torture, possibly followed by death. There had to be a way out of this predicament. He wondered when the paralysis would subside and was especially worried about the fact that the Brain took such a sudden and keen interest in Raven and Beast Boy's relationship. He knew that nothing good would come of that.

Beast Boy had also overheard Immortus' report and was racked with concern over what the Brotherhood might do to Raven. He knew that the Brotherhood from his own universe had a grudge against him that went all the way back to his Doom Patrol days, but he was a virtual stranger to them in this reality. Why were they so interested in them? Of what concern could it be to the Brain that they were a couple? The changeling knew he could still morph, but it was useless as the paralysis would remain. He thought about morphing into a blue whale. That would bring the chopper down but in their paralyzed state it would also mean certain death upon impact. He knew he had to protect Raven, but had no idea how could accomplish that.

As Robin continued strategizing he felt the helicopter begin its descent. He felt a tingling in his fingers and was able to twitch them. He wondered if the effect was wearing off of his teammates as well.

Robin's incipient recovery arrived too late as the chopper touched down and they were quickly removed from the aircraft.

"Hurry!" Immortus shouted. "The paralysis effect is beginning to wear off."

Robin felt his carrier begin to run; its metallic feet along with those of the other droids were making a rhythmic clickety-clack sound on the hard surface beneath them. Suddenly the droid stopped and dumped Robin unceremoniously with a loud thud. The Boy Wonder grunted as he heard 3 more thuds followed by the familiar hum of a force field being activated.

"Follow me, and bring him along." Immortus shouted. The sound of metallic feet was once again heard, followed by the sound of a sliding door opening then closing. The room was quiet for a moment until the sound of a familiar voice broke the silence.

"Robin, are you guys OK?" Terra shouted, her voice sounded strangely muffled.

"I'm paralyzed, but it's starting to wear off."

"Same here." shouted Cyborg. "I can't see anything; they covered my head with a bag."

"Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy! Are you alright?"

"I am the OK Robin. Like you and Cyborg I am recovering my motor skills and am also blindfolded."

"Same here." Raven chimed in. "Gar? Are you OK?"

Raven then heard her own voice reply.

"Gar isn't here. He's the one they dragged off just now."

Raven felt icy fingers grip her spine. They were going to torture him, of that she had no doubt.

"Terra! What's going on?" Robin shouted as he was finally able to wiggle his fingers.

"I have bad news Robin. We've all been captured. Each one of us is trapped inside some sort of personal force field bubble. We've been trying to break free, but the bubbles are impervious to our powers."

Robin's heart sank. Unlike the last time he had been trapped by the Brotherhood there was no one organizing a rescue. This time there was no Beast Boy to storm the fortress and no honorary Titans to back him up. Suddenly he was able to move his arms and he pulled his blind fold off. His teammates were doing the same and within a few minutes they were able to stand up.

Each one of them began to explore their bubble, seeking a way to escape. Starfire tried pummeling the bubble but it did not yield while her starbolts and eyebeams proved to be equally ineffective. Cyborg tried to neutralize his bubble with a field dampener but it had no effect, meanwhile Raven used her dark energy in an attempt to stretch the bubble, hoping to pop it, but she did not meet with success.

A loud laugh began to echo throughout the huge room they were in as a sliding door opened. It was Mallah who was laughing as he entered, followed by the Brain, Rouge and Immortus.

"Your cells are fool proof, there is no escape!" Mallah roared. "I designed them myself."

Raven began pounding on her bubble with her fists.

"What have you done with him?" She shouted in anger. "If he's hurt you will pay for it!"

"Isn't. Romance. A. Splendid. Thing. My. Friends? The. Sorceress. Actually. Loves. The. Green. Failure." The Brain gloated.

"What have you got against Beast Boy?" Robin shouted angrily. "He's never done anything to you, at least in this dimension he hasn't."

Madam Rouge spoke up.

"He is paying for past grievances against the Brotherhood of Evil as we speak."

"What past grievances? He's never had a run in with you guys. What are you talking about?" Cyborg howled in anger.

"Perhaps a demonstration will end your confusion." Mallah grinned as he lifted a communicator to his mouth. "Bring him in."

The sliding doors opened a second time and the Titans could only stare in bewildered confusion. A semiconscious and visibly beaten Beast Boy was dragged into the room by two droids, followed by … The Brain, Mallah, Rouge and Immortus.

The second Mallah spoke up.

"Guess who?"

It suddenly clicked for all the Titans.

"You're the Brotherhood from our dimension. No wonder there's been no trace of you for months." Robin snarled.

Raven's eyes had split into their demonic form and she had grown in stature.

"You will pay for this outrage." She threatened them in an otherworldly tone.

"I don't think so." The second Immortus replied. "We hold all the cards. Sergeant! Proceed!"

One of the droids stepped forward and resumed the beating that the changeling had received earlier. Beast Boy was far too weak to morph or even fight back as the robot pummeled him.

"STOOOOP!" Raven screamed, resuming her human form. Unfortunately, unlike the mission against Slade when Robin was about to be crushed by a giant gear time did not stop on this occasion.

The second Brain approached Raven.

"He. Is. Important. To. You. Isn't. He. Demoness? I. Have. A. Proposal. For. You. Serve. Me. And. He. Will. Be. Spared. Once. I. Am. Convinced. Of. Your. Loyalty. To. Me. I. Might. Even. Return. Him. To. You."

Raven's eyes began to well up with tears. This was a bargain she could not accept. Immortus gestured at his robots and they released Beast Boy and he fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Raven could see blood trickling out of his mouth as his body quivered from the pain he was feeling and that she could sense.

"Don't listen to him Raven!" Jinx howled. "They already killed all of their henchman, including the Joker and Harley."

The first Mallah began to chuckle.

"That was most unfortunate. While he was very talented the Joker lacked our vision of evil for evil's sake. He was a mercenary; all he cared about was money and spreading his form of mayhem around. Everything was a joke to him. We invited him to join the Brotherhood, but he unwisely chose to decline and had the gall to demand his payment. He left us no other choice."

Raven saw Beast Boy stir and looked at him. He was still sprawled on the floor and she saw him mouth the word 'No' repeatedly. She had to buy him some time.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

Robin saw Beast Boy beginning to stir and quickly caught on to what Raven was trying to do. He decided to join her little charade.

"No Raven, you can't do that!" He howled.

Raven glared at the Boy Wonder.

"Don't even think that you can tell me what to do! I have to save him!"

Beast Boy was slowly beginning to crawl, unnoticed by the two Brotherhoods who were enjoying the 'fight' between the dark sorceress and Batman's old apprentice. Meanwhile Raptor figured out what Beast Boy was trying to do: he was crawling towards the console that controlled the bubbles' force fields. He was still moving very slowly and Raptor decided to help out with the charade.

"If Raven won't help you, then I will."

Raven had to fight back a smile. This was going to be the perfect distraction.

"Don't even think of it bitch! He's mine, or have you forgotten?"

The villains, at least the ones who had mouths, were grinning from ear to ear.

"I love a good cat fight." One of the Immortuses said. "They have a timeless quality to them. Did I ever tell you about the time back in ancient Egypt when Nefertiti had a fight with her cousin over a man?"

"Listen Raven, we both know that I'm the real woman here. You're the clueless virgin, remember? So just let me have him and everyone will be happy, except you of course!"

Beast Boy was now on all fours approaching the console and remained unnoticed.

"You wish! You're just a slut Raptor, admit it! You know he doesn't love you!"

Raptor placed her hands on her hips in a display of cocky self confidence. By this point both Brotherhood teams were mesmerized by the exchange and none of them noticed that Beast Boy was now standing in front of the console on what appeared to be legs made of rubber.

"Is that so Raven? I remember the last time Gar and I made love. He wouldn't shut up and stop saying he loved me after we were done. And let me tell you Raven, you have no idea what you've been missing out on! Once you go green, there's no turning back!"

A chorus of 'ooohs' could be heard not only from the villains but from some of the prisoners as well. Meanwhile Beast Boy was beginning to press some buttons on the panel.

Raptor's taunt had hit too close to home for Raven and she genuinely lashed out at the bubble around her, trying in vain to get her hands around Raptor's neck.

"Shut your mouth Raptor, you whore! Let me out of here! I'm gonna kill her!"

At this point the villains were beginning to chuckle when a gun shot rang out. Raven and Raptor's 'act' was interrupted by the loud sound and both turned towards Beast Boy, who was slumped over the console while blood oozed from a gunshot wound in his back.

"NOOOOOO!" Both sorceresses screamed in horror.

One of the Immortuses stepped away from the crowd and examined the fallen changeling, followed by a droid whose rifle was still smoking.

"He's still alive, but he won't last long. Good job sergeant." He said as he glanced at the console before pressing the cancel button. "He was one button away from deactivating the force fields." He then shoved Beast Boy aside and the changeling landed behind the console with a dead thud.

Raptor got on her knees.

"Please don't let him die! I'll do anything for you! I mean it, I'm not like Raven. I'm not an idealist, please believe me."

The second Brain, the one from Beast Boy's universe responded first.

"It. Is. Now. Too. Late. To. Bargain. Sorceress. And. Now. I. Wish. To. See. Him. Die. He. Has. Long. Been. A. Thorn. In. My. Side."

"That. Is. Not. What. We. Agreed. Upon." The first Brain interrupted.

"It. Is. Inconsequential. I. Am. Changing. Our. Agreement."

The first Mallah and Rouge reacted immediately.

"No, this is our universe. We are in charge here."

Heated words were exchanged between the villains while Raven stared in the console's direction, tears dripping down her face. She couldn't see Beast Boy but she could faintly sense his presence through the force field. He was still alive but he needed medical assistance immediately otherwise he would die. She resumed pounding on the bubble, knowing well that it was not going to yield.

Suddenly she felt that familiar sensation, the one she felt whenever Beast Boy morphed into one if his animal forms. The sensation was unique and if pressed she would have described as sensual. In the team's earlier years she had always enjoyed that feeling she sensed whenever he morphed, but had never told anyone, not even Beast Boy.

Raven gasped when she saw a large green gorilla rise behind the console. Beast Boy had a large power cable in his hands and using all his might he pulled on it. She could feel the agonizing pain that was coursing through his still wounded body, like miniature lightning bolts trying to take him down. He ignored the pain and kept pulling until the cable became detached; breaking the power coupling it was attached to. Sparks flew everywhere.

The bubbles all disappeared with a loud pop while Beast Boy reverted to his human form and collapsed on to the floor.

"Titans Go!" Robin and Terra yelled as one. The combined teams fell upon their captors and the battle began. The two Brains retreated to a safe distance while Raven and Raptor flew to Beast Boy's side.

"Tell me you can heal him!" Raptor shouted while Raven waved her hands over him. Some of the droids began shooting at them but Raptor raised a dark shield, protecting them for a moment.

"He's in terrible shape. Why can't you heal? I could use some help!"

Raptor held her shield up as the barrage of gunfire intensified.

"I skipped class that day in Azarath."

By this point Raven's blue light had appeared.

"Let me guess, there was a boy involved."

"I guess you do know me. Can't you teach me through a telepathic link?"

Raven noticed that the battle had shifted away from them.

"OK, I will. Clear your mind…"

"I know how to do a telepathic link Raven."

"I guess you aren't completely useless…"

Raven began chanting her signature mantra and soon she was able to see inside of Raptor's mind. As she literally pushed the memories of the missed class into Raptor's mind she was able to see some of Raptor's own memories, which flashed by until she saw a memory she did not want to see. It was from Raptor's vantage point. She was kneeling on top of a bed that looked identical to Raven's old bed, including the hood shaped headboard . Looking down Raptor could see Beast Boy, lying naked face up on top of the bed with a very nervous look on his face. Raven could see Raptor's own naked figure as she looked down at Beast Boy,

_Don't be nervous Gar; I know it's your first time. I promise you that you'll never forget it._

Raven snapped out of her trance, and found that Raptor was kneeling next to her, the familiar blue light was also emanating from her hands.

"It's working Raven! It's working! Gar's already getting better! I can feel it."

Raven nodded as tears dripped down her face.

_How could you Gar, how could you? Why didn't you wait for me? I wanted to be your first, your one and only…_

"Are you OK Raven?" Raptor asked.

Raven nodded silently in reply as the battle around them intensified.


	16. Raven's steady hand

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

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The battle was intensifying. At first the Titans caught the combined Brotherhood teams off guard as they leaped out of the now vanquished bubbles.

Robin and Nightwing tackled one of the Mallahs and were quickly overwhelming them. The gorilla had superhuman strength and was quick, his reflexes were lighting fast. The two Richard Graysons worked in tandem, almost as if of one mind as they repeatedly struck the simian, either with lightning fast kicks or with powerful bo-staff strikes, which more than once shattered the pole like weapons. Mallah lashed out at his tormentors but they were too agile and were able to easily evade his ham fisted strikes. The gorilla knew he was in trouble and looked to his twin for help.

Meanwhile Mammoth engaged the other gorilla genius in what was clearly a battle of brute strength. The other Mallah was resorting to cunning and speed to fend off the one man platoon whose tactics were the opposite of those used by the onetime acrobats. The gorilla and the muscle man were evenly matched in their battle, which was waged without concern for what was happening around them. Their tactics were similar: brutal punches and wrestling. They were clearly in a stalemate.

Starfire and Blackfire took on the two Madam Rouges, who had decided to band together in their fight. A single Madam Rouge was as formidable adversary under any circumstance as she combined brute force with finesse, cunning was matched with raw power in a yin-yang fashion, complementing each other perfectly. The Tamaranians however, while not friends were still proud warriors of Tamaran, and princesses to boot. They fought as a single unit, even though they were technically strangers, and clearly had the upper hand over the two shape-shifters who fought aggressively and without honor as they avoided the deadly starbolts and eyebeams the two women wielded. One of them made the mistake of wrapping herself around Starfire in a foolhardy attempt to smother the princess. For all her trouble she was rewarded with a giant star bolt which Starfire formed around her body, sending the elastic woman reeling.

The remaining heroes, namely the two Cyborgs, Terra, Jinx and Gizmo engaged the combined robotic army that the ancient generals commanded. The droids had initially focused on the two Ravens and Beast Boy but soon had to reposition their focus as they suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of sonic cannons, thermal blasters, bad luck hexes, flying chunks of concrete and Gizmo's arsenal. The robots fired back, but their clumsy and poorly aimed shots missed their mark time and time again as the heroes deftly dodged their attacks while counterattacking, steadily decimating their mechanical antagonists.

The distraction was welcomed by the two sorceresses who continued to heal Beast Boy, who was lying on his side, still in the same position he had been in since he collapsed after morphing into a gorilla. Raptor was by far the least skilled of the healers, being the neophyte she focused more on the less harmful wounds while Raven continued with her triage.

Raven was examining Beast Boy's gunshot wound in his back and was alarmed with what she saw. The bullet's entry point was close to his spine and it appeared that the bullet was lodged near his heart. Also, having morphed into a gorilla and back into his human form had shifted the bullet around, further complicating matters. The wound was bleeding profusely and Raven knew that he had already lost a lot of blood as her own blood stained hands attested to. She also knew that the bullet had to be removed before she could begin to heal the hideous wound, but she dared not attempt to remove it with her powers as she feared that she might cause even more harm to her beloved.

But Raven knew that time was of the essence and that the bullet would have to be removed as soon as possible. She paused for a moment and scanned the room until she saw what she was looking for: he was huddled in a corner, staying out of harm's way.

While pointing at the young man with the gift of supervision she shouted at her doppelganger.

"Raptor! Bring See-more here! I need him!"

Raptor stared dumbly at Raven.

"What for? He's useless; he can't cover for us while we heal Gar."

"Just do it, there's no time to explain!" Raven snapped at her.

Raptor scowled at Raven but obeyed her. She phased into the ground and reappeared next to See-More. She grabbed his arm and phased back into the ground, reappearing next to Raven who shouted at him.

"See-More, I need you to tell me where the bullet is lodged in his torso!"

The young man nodded in understanding, intimidated by the two sorceresses. He had replaced Raptor on the Titans and had always associated her persona with being a villain. Two Raptors were almost too much for the wimpy hero to bear and he shivered imperceptibly as Raven addressed him. He then turned towards Beast Boy and focused his gaze upon the changeling. With his right hand he flipped through the various filters in his visor which helped him refine and focus his gift of super vision. As he did this he focused intently on Beast Boy and his expression soon turned into a frown.

"This is bad." He muttered. "Very bad. The bullet is lodged between his heart and his aorta. If you aren't careful when removing it you could kill him."

Raven's expression turned grim before she ducked instinctively, dodging another stray round of bullets from the raging battle around them. See-more flinched and let out a girlish yelp, even though the bullets didn't even come close to him. Raven grabbed his arm with her blood drenched hand.

"See-More, I need to enter your mind. I need to be able to see what you see so I can save Gar. Do you understand?"

The cyclops nodded.

"Go ahead Raven, he's needs that bullet removed immediately. I'm ready."

Raven acknowledged him with a nod and her eyes began to glow black with her dark energy and See-more felt her presence surround him, seeking an entryway into his psyche, which it quickly found. At first he instinctively pushed back at foreign presence but quickly regained control, dropping his mental guard and allowed her into his mind.

Raven was sitting in the lotus position and her body gave a slight jerk as she settled into See-More's mind. He blinked and in the same fashion as when she had entered Robin's mind when he was having Slade hallucinations years before his single eye changed color, matching Raven's own amethyst orbs.

Raven's own eyes continued to glow black as she extended her hand out with the palm face up. A thin tendril emerged from her palm, no thicker than a sewing thread. Raven could now see where the bullet was lodged and she guided the thin tendril into the gunshot wound. She watched as she led it to the bullet and gently wrapped it around the deformed piece of lead. The tendril then squeezed the bullet, reshaping it to facilitate its removal. Once the potentially life ending lump of lead had been reshaped into a smooth ovoid shape Raven began the delicate process of extricating it. She was completely focused on the task and was unaware of the battle that was still being waged around her. Raptor once again raised her shields to protect Raven, Beast Boy and See-more from any stray bullets.

As Raptor turned she could see the sweat form on Raven's brow as she delicately and precisely began to remove the bullet from its resting place between Beast Boy's beating heart and his aorta, using extreme caution to not nick any of the precious blood vessels on his heart. After about a minute she heaved a sigh of relief as she held the offending bullet in her hand.

"Are you OK?" Raptor asked her, dropping her shields. "If you want, I can take over with the healing." She offered eagerly. "It looks like the battle is winding down.

"I'm OK." Raven replied as she released See-more from her link. The one eyed boy jerked violently as he regained full control of his nervous system.

"Man, that was weird." He commented breathlessly.

Raven's blue light appeared and the wound slowly began to close.

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The combined team of superheroes and superhero wannabes were fighting with the coordination usually found in a symphony orchestra. They switched fighting partners and opponents seamlessly. The Brotherhood team was at a loss on how to counter the heroes who not only outnumbered them but were fighting with grace and confidence. The Brotherhood increasingly had to rely on brute force to keep the Titans at bay but were quickly growing tired while the heroes relied on cunning and skill to tire the villains. Jinx threw hexes at opportune moments while Terra pummeled them with pieces of rock and concrete that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Gizmo fired miniature missiles.

The two Generals were the only ones who had been able to successfully inflict some pain on the Titans as their troops managed to connect a few shots on the two Cyborgs who were merely inconvenienced as the salvos ricocheted off their armor.

As the Titans methodically mowed down the droids one of the Generals saw an opportunity. Raven had just extracted the bullet from Beast Boy's back and was healing the wound. At this point Raptor dropped her guard to watch Raven heal her former lover. What Immortus really wanted was to snuff out the changeling but Raptor was blocking the changeling from a clean shot as she knelt down next to Beast Boy. Immortus knew that beggars couldn't be choosers and consoled himself with the satisfaction that he would be able to add Raptor to his list of illustrious kills.

With a grin on his face he tapped on his data pad. With the greatest stealth a dozen droids broke away from the main fight and aimed their weapons at the sorceress who remained unaware of the great peril she was in.

A sound of thunder was heard and the two demonesses turned at the same in its direction. They couldn't see the droids that fired upon then as they were blocked by a large stegosaurus, which deflected most of the bullets with its scaly armor, absorbing a few into its thick hide. The dinosaur then swung around and knocked the offending droids down with its powerful tail. He morphed back into his human form and limped to Raptor's side.

The gray girl was wide eyed as was Raven, who continued to heal Beast Boy.

"Gar, you saved me." Raptor croaked as she tried to recover her voice.

The changeling grinned a smile that was very familiar to Raven. It was softer and more innocent than any smile Raven had ever seen on the young man's face and reminded her of another smile, one that she loved more than life itself.

The changeling wrapped his arms around Raptor.

"Are you OK Baby?"

Raptor returned his embrace and grimaced as she felt his pain.

"You're hurt!"

"It's just a flesh wound." He answered nonchalantly. Raptor was able to locate the 4 bullets that had wounded him, all of which were lodged in his torso.

"Lie down!" She barked at him and he complied with her order. She ripped his shirt off and examined his wounds. Fortunately the bullets had not penetrated far into his body and taking a cue from Raven she also used a thin tendril of dark energy to remove the bullets.

"Thank you." She whispered to him. "You saved us."

"Well I can't let him be the only heroic changeling here, can I?" He replied between grunts of pain.

"I didn't know you could do a stegosaurus." She whispered into his ear.

"Neither did I, but I couldn't let those wind up soldiers shoot you."

"Gar." Raptor began to sob quietly. "They could have killed you if you failed."

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't."

She took his hand and kissed his palm.

"It's a good thing you didn't." She agreed as a tear worked its way down her face. The moment did not go unnoticed by Raven who turned her focus back to Beast Boy's almost healed wound and smiled.

Immortus saw his plan foiled and quickly retreated away, using his remaining droids as a shield to protect himself from the Titans. Meanwhile one of the Madam Rouges fell as a purple star bolt hit her square in the chest. The other Rouge fled, joining Immortus behind his robotic shield.

At nearly the same time the two Graysons were able to overwhelm one of the Mallahs who succumbed to one of Nightwing's spinning heel kicks. As the leviathan collapsed Robin turned to his twin.

"Not bad for Hive 5." Robin congratulated him.

"Not bad for a Titan." Nightwing replied.

The other Mallah tossed Mammoth aside before the Graysons could join him and also fled, joining the others along with the Brain next to a console.

"There. Is. Nothing. To. Be. Gained. By. Remaining. Here. Farewell. Titans. Until. We. Meet. Again."

Mallah flipped a switch on the console and the four villains were engulfed in an energy field, just like the one that had brought Beast Boy to this dimension and they slowly faded away while the other Immortus yelled. "Cowards, you're nothing but cowards! We never should have trusted you."

The energy field had dissipated and there was no trace left of the second Brotherhood team.

"You should know better than to trust the Brotherhood of Evil Immortus." Robin chided him. "If anyone should know that it would be the Brotherhood of Evil."

Nightwing laughed. "They ditched you! They went back to their dimension and left you holding the bag."

By this point Immortus only had a few droids left. He tapped on his datapad and deactivated them. He then walked up to Terra and after unsheathing his sword he handed it to her.

"We surrender."

Meanwhile Cyborg and Gizmo were examining Beast Boy.

"Nice work Raven, his wound is closed." Cyborg congratulated her.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Gizmo added. "He's in shock. We need to get him back to the Tower infirmary; we have some of his blood stockpiled there."

"Raven, are you strong enough right now to teleport him there? You don't look too good."

Raven felt as exhausted as she looked.

"I can do it." Raptor volunteered as she spread her arms. A black hemisphere appeared and enveloped the group, teleporting them to the infirmary.


	17. In confidence

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Beast Boy's mouth felt dry as he woke up. At first his vision was blurry as he attempted to gather his bearings. He felt a little dizzy, which didn't help with the task. As he moaned he felt the oxygen mask on his face and he instinctively reached for it with his right hand. As he did he felt a bolt of pain shoot up from his back and he groaned in pain.

"He's awake." He heard a voice, which sounded distant, almost with an echo effect while his hand was gently pulled down to his side.

Slowly the cobwebs disappeared and the world slowly came into focus. The first thing he saw was a figure at the foot of his bed. He squinted to see better and saw that it was Terra, who was beaming at him. He looked left and saw Raven, her hood was down and she was holding hands with his non-green counterpart. A confused look smothered his face.

"I'm over here Gar." Raven's voice called from his right.

He turned and saw Raven, her face shrouded behind her raised hood.

"How are you feeling BB?" Terra asked.

"Thirsty."

Raven placed a paper cup of water with a straw in front of him as she removed his oxygen mask. He gratefully accepted the drink and within moments had drained the cup of its contents.

"Thanks Rae." He whispered as he closed his eyes. "I take it that we won."

"We did, thanks to you." Terra replied. "Except that your Brotherhood of Evil escaped back to your universe."

Beast Boy nodded while turning to Raptor and his near twin.

"So you guys made up?" He asked in a fading voice.

Raptor nodded as Gar wrapped an arm around her. "We're back together."

"That's good." He whispered again. "I'm tired..."

Beast Boy lost consciousness before even noticing that Starfire was in the room. Terra gently tapped Raptor on the shoulder and the two females along with Gar left the room. Starfire approached Raven and pulling a chair up next to the bed she sat with her. She noticed that Raven had a troubled expression on her face.

"He will recover Raven. Your beloved is very strong. You have nothing to worry about."

Raven looked at Starfire in the eyes. The princess could see something she rarely saw on her friend's face: pain.

"What is wrong Raven? You may confide in me, we are true friends, right?"

Raven nodded. Starfire, while at times overwhelming with her never ending energy and cheerfulness was the friend she never had as a child. Raven understood the real meaning of the word 'friend' and while North Americans often abused the word she knew that Starfire was being genuine in her use of the term. Raven loved the Tamaranian, as the sister she never had. She knew she could confide in her and while she was loathe to share the burden that was oppressing her she also knew that she needed to share it with someone or it would end up crushing her spirit.

"Something happened to me, during the battle…"

Raven paused.

"Yes friend?"

Raven surprised Starfire as she took her hand and squeezed it.

"This is very hard for me to share Starfire. But I trust you to keep this in confidence."

Starfire nodded as she took Raven's hand with both of her hands.

Raven swallowed before beginning.

"When Gar was hurt I asked Raptor to help me. She didn't know how to use her powers to heal. So I established a telepathic link between us so I could share that knowledge with her."

Raven paused again. Starfire patiently kept silent while waiting for her to resume.

"I accomplished this by sharing memories with her. She was able to see my memories and I was able to see hers as well."

Starfire tensed up, intuitively knowing where this was going.

In a choked up voice the sorceress continued.

"One of the memories I saw was when she and Gar made love for the first time."

Starfire saw tears dripping out of Raven's eyes.

"I thought I had put that behind me Starfire. I understand why it happened, but … but the pain won't go away."

Starfire released her hand and gently wrapped her arms around Raven, drawing her into an embrace as the demoness began to sob.

"I wanted to be his first, on our wedding night. I know it sounds silly and old fashioned, but it was important to me."

"If it is important to you then it is not silly, Raven."

The grey girl sighed before continuing.

"The worst thing of all is that now her memory is in my mind as well."

Starfire released her from her embrace.

"All of it?" She asked with trepidation.

"All of it. It's like I lost my virginity without ever having done the deed. It's especially bad as our bodies are identical. It actually feels like it was my own memory."

Starfire wiped away a tear.

"I wish there was something I could do to help you Raven."

She shook her head.

"Nothing can be done about it Starfire. I'm going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life."

"Memories can fade Raven, especially if they are crowded out by newer and happier memories. It could be worse my friend; your beloved is alive and resting in this bed."

Raven briefly hugged the Tamaranian.

"Thank you Starfire. I know I'll make it through this. I'm fortunate to have a friend like you."

The princess placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"And I thank you for trusting and confiding in me. And since you are my friend I wish to confide in you as well."

Raven's eyes widened. What was Starfire about to tell her?

"Raven, during the months when we searched for this universe Robin and I discussed our future. To make a long story short Robin and I decided to marry after we had recovered Beast Boy…"

Raven smiled as she interrupted.

"That's wonderful news Starfire, congratulations."

"Thank you Raven, but there is more to share. Robin and I also face a challenge of our own."

Raven's smile disappeared.

"You can't have children, right?"

Starfire shook her head.

"No, that is not it. The scientists at STAR Labs have determined that they can splice Robin's genes with my own and produce offspring. The problem is of a different nature..."

Raven became alarmed as she had a good idea of where this was going.

"Oh Starfire, don't tell me that it's…."

"It is. Tamaranian reproductive physiology is incompatible with human physiology."

Raven became even paler than she normally was.

"You and Robin … you can't … have intercourse?"

Starfire nodded sadly.

"I lack 'the plumbing' as you humans would say."

Raven felt a wave of guilt overwhelm her. Compared to this her problem was trivial.

"Starfire, I … I … I don't know what to say. What will you do?"

Starfire put on a brave face.

"Robin and I have discussed this. We will 'improvise' and find ways to share physical intimacy and pleasure with each other. I suppose I could ask Blackfire what she and Nightwing do."

Raven gave her friend a smile.

"You're a wise woman Starfire, and I have much to learn from you."

She turned to Beast Boy and picked up his hand, holding it gently.

"Maybe I also need to improvise Starfire."

The princess smiled and gave her a curious look.

"What do you have in mind Raven?"

Raven sighed. Having an idea was one thing, implementing it was something else altogether.

"Raptor and I, we're the same person, just different facets."

"And?"

"This might sound strange, but what if I embrace the memory and make it my own?"

Starfire smiled.

"That might work Raven, that just might work."

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

After a few days Beast Boy was discharged from the infirmary. He was still weak from the aftermath of his gunshot wound but was in good spirits. The Tower was crowded at the time and there were no spare rooms left in the landmark building. Cyborg had offered to bunk with his green buddy but found out that he and Raven were going to share her guest room and said no more. In any case there was a bigger matter to discuss: what to do with the Hive-5.

The three teams met in the Common Room around a large circular table that had been set up. Robin went to collect his team from their rooms, stopping last at Raven's room. She and Beast Boy emerged together. By this point he looked fully recovered from his wound and was almost back to his high spirited, goofy self while Raven as usual was quiet and expressionless. The team made its way to the common room, still put off by the minor differences in the tower's layout. As they passed the door labeled 'Raven' it slid open revealing Raptor and her changeling's figures. Raven peered into to room, recognizing most of its contents. It unnerved her how much alike she and Raptor were and was beginning to accept that their differences, while visibly outstanding, were actually subtle. What did catch Raven by surprise was Raptor's attire: she was once again wearing her old slave girl outfit. Raven noticed that Beast Boy had to struggle to not stare at her doppelganger. Raven tried to imagine herself dressed like that, but quickly dismissed the thought.

"Nice outfit." Raven said in her monotone.

"If you want one I have one I could let you have, you know, as a souvenir."

"I'll pass." Raven replied as she unconsciously drew closer to Beast Boy.

"Come on Raven; show your boy toy some affection." Raptor teased her. "At least hold his hand."

"Gar is not my toy or plaything." She replied in a monotone. "And how I show him my love and affection is my own business, not yours."

"Have it your way sister." Raptor giggled.

Raven stopped in her tracks.

"What is it Rae?" Beast Boy asked nervously.

"I suppose that you are the closest thing I'll ever have to a sister." Raven droned to her twin.

Raptor opened her arms with a crafty smile on her face.

"You mean you love me, Raven?" She asked.

Raven ignored her invitation to hug and resumed walking,

"Don't flatter yourself, Raptor."

Soon they reached the common room doors, which slid open. Robin's team gasped at what they saw. Terra's team was already seated at the round table, along with the rest of the Hive. What they were not expecting to see was a red headed woman dressed in Tamaranian battle armor who was wearing an 'M' shaped crown on her face. She was flanked by several Tamaranian warriors who dropped down onto a knee when Starfire entered the room.

The two women stared at each other and the room was so quiet a pin drop could have been heard. Finally the armored woman broke the silence.

"Greetings Princess Starfire, I have been wanting to meet you for some time."

Starfire replied immediately.

"And I greet you, Empress Starfire. How is knorfka Galfore?"

"He is well Princess, and might I ask how is your knorfka?"

"He is well. He is the Emperor as I abdicated in his favor."

"Then your Tamaran is in good hands."

Terra cleared her throat.

"We are all present now. There are now some announcements to be made. Would you like to begin Starfire?"

The Empress nodded and stood up. Raven watched her keenly as she noticed the many subtle differences between this woman and the female she had shared the Tower with for over 5 years now. The Empress was a somber looking woman, one who carried an air of no-nonsense seriousness about her. Raven could only imagine what the burden of being the Empress was like and silently thanked Azar that her Starfire had chosen to relinquish the crown to Galfore. She also noticed that the Empress did not smile and had several scars on her face. But what stood out most of all was her body language. It wasn't just that she wasn't self conscious like her friend or exuded authority. There was something more. As Raven reached out with her empathy she found it. The Empress was a sad and unhappy woman. There was not a spark of the unbridled joy that was always present in her friend.

"Thank you Terra. I have come to Earth to announce a general pardon to my sister. Blackfire, your title of Princess of Tamaran is reinstated and you are welcome to return to our world. If you wish you may bring Nightwing as your consort."

Blackfire and Nightwing bowed to the Empress.

"We accept your offer sister."

"Too bad it isn't that easy to get rid of the Hive back home." Beast Boy whispered to Raven.

"True." She replied. "But I can't think of anyone who would take them."

Beast Boy chuckled. "Aw, we'd be bored if that happened anyway."

Terra cleared her throat.

"Well, that certainly is good news. And by the way, the president has pardoned all former members of the Hive. Your slates are clean." She said as she turned to the Hive's Cyborg. "I believe you have news for us as well."

'Evil' Cyborg stood up.

"I'm going back to Metropolis to work with my dad. When he heard that I helped beat the Brotherhood of Evil he asked me to come home." Beast Boy thought he saw a tear form in the bionic man's human eye. "He was really happy. He even quoted the Bible. He said that his son who was dead is now alive."

The Titan's Cyborg grinned approvingly at the news.

Terra continued. "The only unresolved issue that remains is what happens with Raptor and Garfield."

The couple in question looked at each other and nodded. Garfield cleared his throat.

"Raptor and I want to join the Titans." He announced.

The entire room emitted a collective gasp.

"Are you sure about this?" Robin asked.

"Absoluteley!" Raptor replied. "And we have some other news."

"We're getting hitched!" Garfield announced.

Raven and Raptor locked eyes and Raptor almost laughed at Raven's expression of disbelief.

"Sometimes you just have to go for it Raven." Raptor told her twin.

Terra cleared her throat.

"Titans, all in favor of letting them join the team?"

A chorus of 'ayes' was heard from Terra's team. The geomancer turned to Robin's team.

"What do you guys think?"

Cyborg and Starfire quickly agreed. Robin paused before saying "Everyone deserves a second chance."

All eyes were on Raven and Beast Boy. Raven finally spoke up.

"Garfield showed bravery and nobility when we fought the Brotherhood. Raptor … well, she needs to lose the slave girl outfit…"

"Can't I wear it on casual Fridays?" Raptor joked.

"… otherwise I think she does show some potential. And congratulations on your engagement to both of you."

"I was kinda out of action during the battle, so I'll go with what Raven said." Beast Boy added.

Terra beamed.

"It's settled then. Raptor …"

"Please." Raptor interrupted. "Just call me Raven."

Terra smiled.

"Raven and Garfield Logan are now Titans. Congratulations!"

The room erupted in raucous applause. Once it died down Terra's expression turned to sadness.

"And finally I'm sorry to announce that Robin's team will be heading home tonight, now that BB has recovered. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you guys for helping us capture the Brotherhood of Evil and I want to say that I'm gonna miss you all of you." She said as she fought back the tears.

Cyborg piped up.

"Actually, Gizmo and I came up with a way to keep in touch with each other."

"That's right." The bald genius announced. "Using sub-quantum structures we can keep a microscopic connection opened between the two universes. It'll have enough bandwidth to send streaming data back and forth so we can have a video link."

"That's fantastic!" Terra cheered.

"And you are all invited to come visit us sometime." Robin added.

Beast Boy took in all the commotion around him. They were all together because of that accident that had happened months ago. It had been an experience he would never forget. As he reminisced he looked over and saw Raven standing with a stoic expression on her face. She had never given up on finding him and in spite of all that had happened between him and Raptor she had stayed with him.

He was ready to go home and turning to Raven he took her hand. She accepted his gesture and reciprocated with a mild squeeze.

"Raven?"

"Yes Gar."

"I love you."

Raven paused, as if processing the simple yet powerful set of words.

"I love you too Gar."

"So what do we do now?"

Again she paused.

"I don't know. We'll have to figure that out when we get home."


	18. Home

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Raven made her preparations to create her inter-dimensional portal while Raptor watched. She once again pulled the strange looking round blue bottle from her knapsack and drew a circle on the ground with it. Meanwhile the rest of Robin's team made the rounds bidding farewell to their new friends and colleagues. There was a great deal of bantering, back slapping and hugging going on while the sorceress made her preparations. Amid all the commotion the Empress Starfire grabbed Princess Starfire by the elbow and led her aside, out of earshot from the rest of the group.

"You are not serious about bonding with the human?" The Empress asked her twin.

"I am. Why do you ask?" The princess replied.

The Empress gave her a very stern look.

"You know as well as I do that you will be unable to mate with him."

"I am aware of the anatomical issues." She replied dryly.

"Then why? Why not chose a Tamaranian as your mate?"

The Princess glared at her twin.

"I see that I made the right decision in abdicating the throne."

The Empress returned the glare.

"That was a selfish act on your part."

The princess crossed her arms.

"I wish you well, your Majesty. May your house prosper and may you have many offspring." The princess replied as she walked away.

Meanwhile, across the room Beast Boy and Terra were exchanging their own goodbyes. The geomancer looked tearful but tried to smile as they exchanged words. Raven and Raptor both watched the pair and Raven visibly cringed when Terra hugged Beast Boy and kissed him goodbye. Raptor sensed Raven's discomfort and decided to have some last minute fun at her doppelganger's expense.

"So what are you going to do with him Raven?"

Raven was still on her knees preparing the circle. She looked up at Raptor and replied.

"What do you mean?"

Raptor grinned. "Come on Raven, he's a babe magnet. How are you going to keep the other girls away from him?"

Raven ignored the taunt and resumed her preparations.

"What about the Terra in your universe?" Raptor asked, unwilling to give up.

"She disappeared years ago." Raven replied in her monotone as she completed her task and stood up. A line had formed and the locals said their goodbyes to the monotone speaking girl. Eventually all the goodbyes had been said and Raven was joined by her teammates inside the circle. Raptor was still with them.

"Time to get out of the circle Raptor."

Raptor looked at Raven and smiled. She then swung around and wrapped her arms around Beast Boy and kissed him.

"Thanks for teaching me how to love, Gar." She said in a soft voice. Then she glanced in Raven's direction.

"Be good to her."

Raptor stepped out of the circle. Raven wasted no time in beginning the spell and the vortex once again appeared. As it gained momentum and began to howl Raven heard Raptor's voice over the din.

"You're a lucky bitch, Raven!"

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Just as it had the first time around the whirlwind that Raven conjured began to weaken and as it did the common room began to appear outside of the vortex which quickly died away. Beast Boy sniffed the air and was greeted by the familiar smell of his home. He was the first to step out of the circle and he cautiously explored the room, as if unable to believe he was actually home at last. He walked up to the circular couch and sat down as he picked up his green GameStation controller, which was covered by a light layer of dust.

"Ah man! All the food in the fridge is spoiled" Cyborg moaned. This of course was not surprising as they had been absent for nearly three weeks.

Robin, being the obsessed leader that he was, stepped over to the mission console to check on the status of crimes reported. To his immense relief nothing major had happened during their absence. Meanwhile Starfire grabbed a feather duster and had already begun to dust the common room.

Raven silently walked to the couch and sat down next to Beast Boy. The changeling was dressed in some civilian clothes that were handy in the parallel Tower as his Doom Patrol costume had been ruined when he had been shot. He put the controller down and the couple sat together silently for a few minutes.

"We're home." He said as he finally broke the silence. "I thought I would never see this place again."

Raven nodded silently.

"I'm gonna get changed." He announced suddenly. "If the alarm goes off I can't go out dressed like this."

"Of course." Raven replied. "When you're ready, meet me in my room." She said as she stood up and walked away.

"Yeah, sure Rae." He replied as she walked away.

As soon as the doors slid shut Starfire approached the changeling and gave him a hug. The young man hugged her back and smiled.

"Beast Boy, I must speak with you before you go to Raven's room."

"Sure Star, what's up?"

The princess released him and held his hands.

"You do know that Raven loves you very much?"

He nodded.

"Friend, you must be very patient with Raven for some time."

Beast Boy looked confused. Starfire recognized his expression of bewilderment and took that as her cue to explain.

"You must understand that Raven suffered tremendously during your absence. For the longest time she was unsure if she would ever see you again."

"I know. Is that it?"

Starfire shook her head.

"No friend, it is not. When we finally located you she was overjoyed, I had never seen her so happy. But then the unfortunate truth was learned."

Beast Boy's ears drooped.

"You don't have to remind me of that, Star."

The Tamaranian sighed.

"I am afraid that I must. On the surface Raven gives us the impression that she has done the 'dealing with' to the unfortunate truth, but she is still suffering from it, Beast Boy."

"You mean she's still angry with me?"

Starfire paused before replying.

"No, she is not angry with you. But she is still very shaken up. The damage was done to her self esteem and she is unsure of how to proceed with the relationship. The truth is that she would struggle with this even under ideal circumstances."

Beast Boy looked troubled.

"So what do I do Star?"

The princess placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Be patient and always let her know that you love her."

The changeling pecked Starfire on the cheek.

"Thanks Star. That's just what I'll do."

TtTtTt TtTtTt TtTtTt

Beast Boy entered his room and found it immaculately clean. His laundry was clean and put away methodically in his closet and bureau. Both beds were made and there was no trash on the floor. His knick-knacks were organized in his bookcase and his desk was tidy and only had a light layer of dust on it. He saw a greeting card on the desk and opened the envelope. As he read it he saw that it was dated shortly after he had been pulled into the other dimension. It contained a short letter from Raven. She briefly apologized for keeping their relationship a secret and promised to make it public upon his return. It also said that there was a surprise waiting for him in her room.

He put the card back into its envelope and quickly changed into his costume, wondering what surprise Raven was talking about. The card had been written months before and he wondered if perhaps the message on it was out of date and perhaps no longer true. Nonetheless he changed quickly and rushed out his door.

The hallways in the Tower felt familiar and at the same time foreign to him, which helped put into perspective just how long he had been gone. While Raven had spent months worrying about him he had spent the time having an affair with Raptor and later in a growing relationship with Terra that was only nipped in the bud by Raven's surprise arrival.

He stopped in front of Raven's door and raised his hand to knock when the door slid open by itself. He peered into the room and was surprised by what he saw.

Raven's room had been completely changed. The only thing he recognized were her bookcases which were still loaded with books, otherwise it was a completely different room. For one thing it was missing her collection of creepy artifacts and was overall much brighter than it used to be.

But what really stood out was that her bed had changed. The old bed, with its hooded headboard was gone. In its place was a traditional four poster bed. A king sized four poster bed.

Raven was seated at the foot of the bed and Beast Boy sat down next to her.

"I see you went for the full makeover." He said lightheartedly. He had immediately understood the significance of the new bed, but said nothing about it.

"I did this four months ago." She replied softly.

Beast Boy took her hand.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

"What do you want to do?" She replied.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "I think I'd be kidding myself to think that we can just pick up where we left off."

"You told me a few hours ago that you loved me, Gar."

"I do love you, Rae."

"So what do we do, Gar?"

"Do you trust me, Rae?"

She bit her lip before answering.

"I do … but I'm not sure I trust myself."

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid, Gar. I really am."

The changeling looked troubled.

"Of what?"

She fought back the tears as she answered him.

"That I'll never measure up to her."

Beast Boy looked aghast.

"Rae, what are you talking about? There's no comparison between you and Raptor. "

She sighed before continuing.

"Gar, there was an incident when Raptor and I had to establish a telepathic link to save your life."

"Yeah, you already told me about that."

Raven's heart began to pound in her chest. It was hard enough to deal with the memory. She had told Starfire that she would try to make it her own, but she had no idea of how to do that. Raptor had been so relaxed as she seduced Beast Boy. She could see his worried face in the memory and also saw how her twin had taken charge to calm him down and soon had him eating out of her hand. Raptor was an expert in the art of physical love and she played Beast Boy as if he were a fiddle. The eventual outcome was as expected, Gar's inhibitions melted away as her twin took him on a journey of sexual ecstasy. She despaired at the thought of ever competing with that.

The thought made her angry. The way it should have been would have been for them to learn together, to discover each other when they were older, more mature and in a permanent relationship. Of course they were now both older and more mature. But she still worried about the relationship.

"Gar, when I did that I was able to see her memories. I was able to see what she remembered when she took your virginity."

Beast Boy said nothing. He was overwhelmed with remorse over his foolish choice.

"I know I should be able to deal with this Gar. She is me, my counterpart in that universe. But it's still not easy. She makes me feel inadequate, incompetent. She's so suave, so self confident with her sexuality. I just can't believe that I'll ever be able to please you like she did …"

Beast Boy covered her lips with his fingers.

"That's not true Rae. You're the one she doesn't measure up to."

Raven gave him an incredulous look.

"You don't understand Gar. I've always prided myself in understanding things, in being in control. You often joke about me always being right, but it's not a joke Gar, I want to be right. Unlike you I can't improvise, and right now everything feels out of control. I don't know where we stand; I don't know how to give you what you need…"

Beast Boy cupped her face with his hand.

"Rae, you always give me what I need."

She fought back the tears.

"You're joking? How can that be possible? I'm uncomfortable with my emotions and can't even bring myself to kiss you in public. I kept our relationship a secret from our closest friends, our Titan family."

"I know you struggle with that Rae, but that's not important. What does matter is that you're genuine and true. That matters more to me than if you kiss me public."

"And what about sex?" She asked. "I really don't know when I'll be able to share myself with you that way."

He gave her that sweet smile she adored.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. It can wait."

The couple shared a loving embrace that lasted for several minutes. Finally Raven broke away.

"So what do we tell the others?" She asked.

"That we're in a committed relationship."

"How committed?" She asked wide eyed.

"Permanently"

The sorceress rested her head on his chest as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Permanently … sounds nice."

"Shall we go tell them now?"

She shook her head.

"Later, I'm tired now. Conjuring that portal exhausted me."

Beast Boy smiled. In the other dimension they had shared a room, but slept in separate beds.

"I could use a nap too. I'll go back to my room, oh and thanks for fixing my room, it looks great. I promise I'll keep it that way from now on." As he got up to leave he felt her hand around his wrist.

"Stay with me, I don't want to be alone."

"Sure Rae. I'd love to."

Raven pulled back the covers on the bed and calmly stripped down to her underwear. Beast Boy followed her example and did the same. She slipped into the bed and he followed her. They snuggled together until they were comfortable. The room was quiet and peaceful and they both felt that way as well.

Beast Boy was beginning to doze off when he felt her kiss on his lips.

"I love you Gar."

He smiled and replied in a sleepy voice.

"I love you too Rae."

THE END (of part 1)


	19. Two Years Later

I reread the story the other day and

I realized that it was pretty good

It was way open for a sequel

So here's the deal …

I want to know what you think about this. Are you interested in a part #2 to this story?

Read this chapter and let me know, if I get enough feedback I will continue. If not, then I will take that as a no and can it.

It's in your hands readers. Let me know.

_**-(scene break )-**_

It was dark in the bedroom as the sun had yet to rise and the curtains were shut. It was also silent and the only sounds to be heard were two people sleeping, snoring softly through the chilly winter night. The silence was broken when a digital alarm clock began to gently beep. A pair of indigo colored eyes opened and a gray arm snaked its way out from under the covers and shut off the clock's beeps.

Raven rolled over to face her bedmate. Beast Boy continued to sleep undisturbed and Raven placed a hand on his shoulder, gently rousing him from his slumber.

"Wake up Gar."

"Do I have to?" He replied, still half asleep.

"Yes, today's the day. We need to get ready."

Beast Boy sat up in the bed and rubbed his eyes. Almost two years had passed since their adventure in the parallel universe. Six months after their return Raven invited him to move in with her. Things moved slowly after that and it wasn't until two months ago that they announced their engagement to their friends.

As Cyborg had promised before the returned from the alternate universe he, along with the alter Gizmo, where able to set up a communication channel between the two realities. The connection was brittle and would often go down for weeks at a time. Nevertheless, the two Titans teams were able to stay in touch. Raptor and Garfield did marry as promised. After reconciling with his father Cyborg returned to Jump City and joined Terra's team. Jinx eventually met her reality's version of Kid Flash and they too became a couple. Terra, Mammoth, See-More and Gizmo remained detached, while Blackfire and Nightwing never returned from Tamaran. Then the "news" arrived, just 3 weeks ago: Garfield, Raptor's husband, was killed during a routine mission, a bank robbery.

Today was a special day: Robin and Starfire were finally going to tie the knot. Perhaps the most anticipated event in Titandom was finally going to happen. The gossip magazines were abuzz and the local TV stations were airing specials regarding Jump City's very own "couple". The coverage was almost as bad as a royal wedding and it was beginning to take its toll on the 5 heroes who lived in the T shaped tower.

The Boy Wonder decided to defer his transformation into Nightwing even though Bruce had a new sidekick named Jason Todd who also wore the ubiquitous 'traffic light" costume. He was going to wear a new and updated version of his costume that was mostly red in color, leaving the yellow, green and black ensemble to be Jason's costume. There was another annoying thing: the press were busy comparing the two Robins, which was absurd as Dick was an adult now and Jason was still a pre-teen. This did not dissuade the pundits, who were already saying that Gotham's Robin was already showing more potential than the one who called Titan's Tower home.

Raven was feeling a sense of dread in her stomach as she rose from the four poster king size bed. The Graysons wedding was scheduled for that afternoon, but that wasn't the source of her concern. While Beast Boy continued to stretch and yawn she made her way into the bathroom. After starting the shower she saw her reflection in the mirror and gazed at it, studying it carefully, as if she was afraid it would emerge from mirror and confront her.

There were many preparations remaining for the day, and while Cyborg had hired outsiders to take care of most of them, there were a few only the Titans themselves could handle and the main task was receiving the countless guests who would be arriving throughout the day. This included welcoming members of the Justice League, the Doom Patrol and other unaffiliated heroes.

And one of those groups was coming from another dimension.

The bathroom was beginning to steam up and after snapping out of her funk she disrobed and stepped into the shower stall, soaking her now shoulder length hair under the stream of hot water droplets. She then felt a soapy washcloth scrubbing her back.

"Why are you worried, Rae?"

She sighed.

"You mean you really don't know?"

"We're engaged, I thought this was settled."

"Not when she's involved, it never is."

Beast Boy stopped washing his fiancée's back.

"You're worried that she's gonna try to steal me from you."

"She lost her husband Gar, and it wouldn't be the first time she tried to replace him with you."

The changeling felt a wave of frustration, but didn't exteriorize it. For someone who was so logical Raven was being irrational about this, or at least that is what he thought.

"I know, but there's nothing to worry about. Don't you trust me?"

She turned around to face him. As she looked at him a memory came back. Not one of her own, but the one she saw in Raptor's mind."

"I do." She lied to him.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"It's time Raven."

Raven snapped shut the clasp on her white cape and hood, which she began to wear after they returned from the alternate dimension. Her hood was down and she instinctively reached for it. Beast Boy gently intercepted her hands and stopped her.

"You don't need to hide. C'mon let's go."

Taking her hand he led her out of their room. The walk to the common room took what felt like an eternity to her and when the sliding doors opened she saw that the swirling vortex had already made its appearance. Robin turned to them and smiled.

"You guys are late." He gently chided them.

Raven didn't say anything and watched as the spinning vortex died out, revealing its occupants.

Terra stepped forward first and hugged Starfire and was followed by Jinx who hugged Robin. Gizmo exited the circle with a frown on his face while Mammoth and See-More also stepped forward to greet their friends.

Raptor remained alone in the circle. Her blue cape was extra long and completely shrouded her body and she wore her hood up, obscuring her face. From her posture Beast Boy could tell that she was forlorn and she didn't move.

The changeling approached and stopped in front of her.

"Raptor, I'm so sorry …"

She lowered her hood and he saw that she had a scar on her face.

"Why did this happen, Gar, why?"

"I don't know." He stammered.

"I tried to be good, we both did. We were heroes, Gar. Why did the Fates repay us this way?"

Beast Boy didn't answer while they stared into each other eyes. Then with no warning she threw her arms around him and burying her face into his chest she began to sob.

"It's not fair, Gar! Why did he have to die? Why?" She whimpered.

Raven approached the couple with trepidation. She was able to feel her twin's emotions and her grief was genuine. It was also overwhelming, and Raven understood just how much Raptor loved her lost mate. Raven imagined how she would feel if she lost Beast Boy, and knew that it would be an excruciating loss. She placed a hand on Raptor's shoulder. She looked up at Raven, the tears still dripping down her face. She released Beast Boy and embraced Raven.

Raven tensed up at first, as Raptor's emotions turned into a torrent, almost overwhelming Raven. The woman's grief was unbearable, yet Raven returned her embrace.

"I understand how much you love him." Raven consoled her. "If anyone can understand, it's me."

The other Titans had stopped their bantering and noticed that the two Ravens were together. Terra leaned over and whispered to Robin.

"She's been a wreck since Gar died; in fact we've all been a wreck."

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"It was a bank robbery, totally run of the mill. We thought we had it under control when this punk comes out of the vault with a hostage. He's holding a gun to her head and he's screaming that he'll kill her unless we let him go. Gar then tries to talk the guy out of it."

Robin stared at Terra, holding his breath.

"So Gar's doing a good job of talking to this guy. You know, the guy is calming down and all that and Gar is beginning to negotiate with him. Then Gar steps forward and asks the guy for his gun. At first it looks like he's gonna surrender. That's when he shot Gar. He emptied his entire clip into him."

Terra paused, chocking back a sob.

"Gar was dead before he hit the ground. Raptor tried to save him, but she couldn't. To this day she blames herself, she says that if she had proper healing training like Raven she could have saved him."

Robin sighed.

"Is that true?"

"I don't know, I mean if Raven cold have saved him then she's a wonder worker. It doesn't matter Robin, she blames herself, her past, and her choices … this has been a very difficult time for us."

Robin placed a hand on Terra's shoulder.

"You guys didn't have to come …"

"I know, but I think that it was good for the team. I just don't know what to do with Raptor. It's like the life has been sucked out of her. I mean … I understand … I just wish I could help her."

They turned their attention back to the two Ravens, who were now sitting on the couch along with Beast Boy. To Robin's amazement Raven was consoling Raptor.

"I didn't expect that." He indicated in their direction with a head gesture.

"Raptor has surprised us, she and Gar really turned over a new leaf. I'm sure your Raven is full of surprises too."

Back on the couch Raven turned to her beau.

"Gar, I'm taking Raptor to our room. She needs to meditate and I need to show her how it's done. We'll need some privacy …"

Before Beast Boy could reply the Tower's alarms began to blare.

"This isn't good." Robin told Terra as they ran to the operations console.

"What do you mean?"

"We asked the police to not call us today, unless it was something really big."

Terra nodded, understanding that this wasn't going to be an ordinary mission.

"We're here to help, Robin." Terra replied.

Robin turned to Raven and Raptor.

"You two can stay here."

Raptor rose from the couch with a defiant look on her face.

"I want to help."

"You don't have to." Robin replied.

"I know." She turned to Raven. "You can show me this 'Nevermore' place when we get back."

"Are you sure?" Raven asked.

"Positive! Let's get going. Who are we up against anyway?"

"The local Hive-5." Terra answered as she turned to Robin.

"Titans Go!" They shouted in unison.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Jinx smiled, her hand on her hips while she supervised her team of villains who were busy stealing a shipment of diamonds from an armored car. Gizmo and Kyd Wykkyd were busy unloading the bags of diamonds while Mammoth, and Billy Numerous were taking care of the armored cars escorts. Meanwhile, See-More was floating overhead, dangling from his oversized, ballooned eyeball.

"No sign of the Titans, boss!" He reported over his communicator.

"I knew they wouldn't show up today! Good job See-More. I know I can always count on you!"

The all seeing Cyclops blushed at the complement. He still had a hopeless crush on Jinx and Kid Flash remained scarce since he and the pink haired enchantress broke up years ago. See-More had promised himself that if this heist went well that he would ask Jinx out on a date.

See-More began to day-dream. First he imagined kissing Jinx … after that his thoughts strayed to second base and beyond.

He was suddenly snapped out of his happy place when his super vision detected several people approaching the crime scene at a very high speed. He focused on them, switching filters and gasped at what he saw, so loudly that Jinx heard him without using their communicators.

"See-More! What is it? Who's coming?" She shouted over her communicator.

"It can't be." He stammered.

"What can't be?" She howled back at him. "I need details See-More, now! Is it the Titans?"

"Yeah, but they have friends with them."

"Friends? You mean like honorary Titans?"

"No." He replied, the disbelief still clear in his voice.

"Then who!" She hissed at him.

"It's … us!"

"What do you mean 'us'?"

"I'm just telling you what I see, Jinx. You, Mammoth, Gizmo and me are with them … oh crap … he's seen us."

"Who saw us?"

"Me! I mean … some guy who looks like me … I don't know … this doesn't make any sense."

It was then that Jinx recalled their encounter two years earlier with the normally colored version of Beast Boy and it clicked in her mind.

"We have to get out of here now! Hive-5! Retreat!"

It was too late, as Kid Flash arrived and slid to a stop in front of Jinx.

"What do you want Wally, in case you haven't noticed I'm kind of busy? Haven't you got over me yet, or are you still crying that I dumped you?"

Kid Flash smirked at the enchantress.

"Sorry, I don't believe we've met before. You do look just like my Jinxie, however."

Before Jinx could react Kid Flash took off, collecting all the bags of diamonds. Jinx clenched her teeth before shouting at him.

"You're just as stupid and annoying as my Wally!"

Jinx fell over as she was hit by a blast of her own bad luck energy and sprained her ankle in the process.

As she looked back she saw her double standing next to Kid Flash, with her arm around his waist.

Billy numerous began to multiply while giggling his bumpkin laugh. He stopped laughing when his eyes locked onto what he later described as 'the most terrifying thing I ever saw, even worse than when the Dukes of Hazzard was cancelled.'

What he saw were two Ravens descending upon him, one was dressed in Raven's old school black and blue and the other in white.

"Run for your lives, there's two of them!" He shouted as he fled in terror.

Raptor seeped out of the ground in front of him and Billy screamed like a little girl.

"What's the matter Billy? I thought you liked duplicates."

The spandex clad redneck fainted on the spot. Raptor turned to Raven.

"Well, that was easy."

Beast Boy and Terra were teamed up against Kyd Wykkyd. Terra was not familiar with the mysterious villain and followed Beast Boy's lead. The changeling morphed into different animals, attempting to corner the dark villain, who kept escaping through portals.

"I hate this guy; he's a pain in the butt." Beast Boy complained.

Hive Gizmo, who was prancing around on his spider legs, noticed Beast Boys distraction and fired a missile off in his direction. It missed its target but the explosion sent Beast Boy flying into wall next to Hive Mammoth, who picked up Beast Boy's unconscious form.

"Look what I found! I think I'm gonna break him!"

Terra lunged towards Mammoth.

"Don't you dare!" She shouted.

Before she was even close Raptor emerged from the ground in front of Mammoth and began to transform. Everyone present, Titans and Hive alike, gasped at the sight before them. Raptor towered over Mammoth and her head looked like that of a hydra, with serpents growing out of it. She had four crimson red eyes and had grown a second set of arms, with razor sharp claws.

"You will give him to me if you wish to live." She ordered him in an otherworldly, guttural voice.

Mammoth stared at Raptor in abject horror and handed Beast Boy over to her. The rest of the Hive-5 promptly surrendered to the Titans. Raptor resumed her human form and was joined by Raven, who quickly examined Beast Boy.

"He has a concussion." Raven announced, her blue light making its appearance while Raptor watched. "He'll be OK."

Raven then looked up at her.

"Thank you. Thank you … sister."

Raptor gave her a relieved smile.

"I couldn't lose him a second time, I just couldn't."

_**-( scene break )-**_


	20. Friends?

"Don't worry Rae, I'll be fine."

The infirmary was the one place in the Tower that nobody liked. It always smelled of harsh antiseptic, it was always cold and it was noisy. Plus if you were spending the night there it meant that either you were injured or ill. And if there was anyone who truly hated the place, it was Beast Boy.

"We just need to check him out Raven." Cyborg interjected. "He won't miss the wedding. Now why don't the two of you go do some catching up?"

Raptor placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"Maybe we should go rest too."

Raven nodded her agreement and the two sorceresses vanished in a single black hemisphere.

"Man, I just can't get over how much alike they are. I shouldn't be surprised, I mean they are DNA twins after all … say … B … can I ask you something?" Cyborg remarked as he placed some ECG electrodes on the changeling's chest.

"What's on your mind, tin man?"

"Have you ever thought about … you know?"

Beast Boy gave him a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

Cyborg gave his bud an evil grin.

"Come on man, you've been with both of them. You know what I mean."

"Don't remind me. And how can you even ask me that? Raptor's still mourning her Gar. I mean, just to even think about that … that's sick … and not in the good way."

"You mean you don't ever think about it? A Raven lying next to you on the left and another one on your right. You'd have trouble just telling them apart from …"

"Dude! What's with you? I'm engaged to Raven. And besides, I'm not into the kinky stuff!"

"C'mon B, relax, I'm just messin' with you. I know your heart belongs to Raven … but c'mon … don't tell me you never think about it."

Beast Boy hopped off the med station as he plucked the electrodes off of his chest. He glared at his friend.

"If you're trying to remind me that I've slept with Raptor, yeah, I haven't forgotten. I wish I could forget, but I can't … and if you want ask me who's better in bed … just don't, OK?"

Beast Boy slipped his shirt back on as walked out of the infirmary. Cyborg shook his head.

_Most guys would brag about that. I guess the grass stain isn't like most guys._

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Have a seat Raptor, or would you prefer I call you Raven?"

"It's OK Raven, for what it's worth Gar always called me Raptor … I'm sorry about my outburst when we arrived … when I saw Beast Boy, everything … just came back."

Raptor sat down on the edge of the bed in Raven's room and her twin joined her.

"Where you there when it happened?" Raven asked uneasily.

Raptor nodded her head sadly.

"I was there. I almost raised a shield on time; I was just a second too late. That guy, he got those shots off so quickly … Gar died in my arms … "

Raptor choked back a sob.

"He died because I'm an incompetent … I couldn't heal him because of my lack of skill Raven … he died because I skipped that class to go make out with a boy, a boy whose name I can't even remember … why couldn't I have been more like you?"

Raven stared at her twin. Ever since they returned from the alternate dimension Raven felt completely inadequate compared to her "sister". Now the tables were turned. Raven could only imagine the guilt Raptor was feeling.

"The worst thing of all Raven … is that I treated him like dirt … and I enjoyed it."

"I'm guilty of the same sin, Raptor."

Raptor shook her head in self disapproval.

"I suppose it comes from being Trigon's daughters … but your Gar is alive and mine … is dead. You can still make it up to him."

"I don't know how … I'm the repressed Raven, remember? I still struggle with physical intimacy with him … we only started a few months ago … he never nagged me once either. It's getting a little easier, but there are still nights when I have to sleep alone … I hate being me."

"Just make sure he knows you love him. I'm not kidding. And be patient with yourself."

Raven averted her gaze towards the floor.

"Even that's hard for me … sometimes … sometimes I think he would be happier with you."

Raptor snorted.

"Yeah, right. Listen Raven, all those months he was with me, he was trying to turn me into you. It wasn't the sex Raven; I didn't win him over with sex. I tried to be like you … I didn't know you back then, but he wouldn't shut up about how much he missed you. So I began to dress like you and even tried to act like you …"

"You still slept with him."

"Can you blame me?"

Raven glared at her.

"Yes, I can."

Raptor shrunk back, looking contrite.

"Raven, he was the best thing that ever happened to me. Before I met your Gar I saw mine as a mere plaything. Beast Boy taught me how to love, and I mean with my heart. After you guys left things between me and my Gar … it was wonderful … I didn't know it was possible to be that happy … and then it ended … just like that … no warning … it was bang and he was gone."

"I don't know what to say Raptor, except that I know this could happen to me too."

"You guys should get married and quit the hero biz Raven, just run away somewhere and have a bunch of kids…"

"I'm sterile …"

"We are? I guess that makes sense, we are hybrids, another gift from father that keeps on giving."

Raven stood up and stared out the window. The sky was overcast as a winter storm was sweeping into town. Raven's emotions were a jumbled mess as she was feeling as somber as the sky overhead. It was only now that she fully understood the link she had with Raptor. Gar's death was affecting her in a way she did not expect. She recalled when she first met him, how she found him to be repugnant and even evil … and now … she was beginning to feel grief over his untimely death … it didn't make any sense … she hardly knew him and yet … she was feeling grief … as if it had been Beast Boy who died.

"We need to meditate; the wedding is in two hours."

"I also skipped that class …"

"It should come naturally to you. At least it did for me." Raven said as she sat down on the bed, crossing her legs.

"Now adopt the lotus position … do you have a mantra? I've never heard you use one."

"It's the same as yours, I just never use it."

"Good, we can recite it together. Now find your center and close your eyes…"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Beast Boy spent the hour after leaving the infirmary helping Alfred Pennyworth greet the arriving guests. Robin and Starfire were busy getting ready and the Titans East were helping down in the common room, where the guests were congregating and being fed a steady diet of snacks, wine, beer and soda pop. Fortunately there were no stragglers and once all the guests arrived he ran off to their room to change into his tux.

As the door slid open BB saw the two Ravens levitating in the air, their legs crossed, eyes closed and both deep in a meditative trance, chanting 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos' as if in a single voice, over and over.

He marveled as he watched them. Other than for the scar on Raptor's face the two women were identical. Cyborg's mean spirited taunt rang in his ears. It really was a strange situation. Both women were or had been his lovers, and while he never shared this with Raven he thought that the two were comparably talented when between the sheets.

He stared at Raptor, remembering the brief romance he had with what at first seemed like a wild and out of control version of Raven. Of course it was true that Raptor would always be less inhibited than Raven, but he also knew that Raven wasn't as repressed as she believed she was either. The real truth was that they really weren't all that different from each other, with the main difference being that Raptor's powers weren't as closely tied to her emotions as Raven's were.

He continued to stare at the paradox before him: one woman who was present in two different instances. Raptor was the first to open her eyes.

"Hello Gar."

"Uh, hi? How are you feeling?"

Raven opened her eyes as her twin replied.

"Refreshed. I never knew this could work so well."

Raven acknowledged her with a nod and noticed that Beast Boy looked … surprised?

"Is something wrong Gar?"

"Uh, no, not really, it's just that you seem to be getting along so well."

"Would you be happy if we fought instead? Raven has a pretty mean punch."

"And your palm strike is nothing to sneeze at, Raptor. So tell us Gar, did you feel special when we fought over you?"

He grinned sheepishly.

"It was kind of cool, actually."

"Well, we aren't going to fight. But it is time to get ready for the wedding," Raven replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Tower's larger foyer had been converted into an impromptu wedding chapel. The array of small couches that lined it was removed and replaced with hundreds of chairs for the countless guests.

The front rows were occupied by The Titans from both dimensions, as well as the extended Titan family. Batman, Superman and other heavyweight Justice League members were also placed in the seats of honor. The place was packed and other than 3 unoccupied seats in the front row is was standing room only.

When the sliding doors opened at the far end of the room everyone turned, expecting to see Robin emerge. What they saw was unexpected by most present as Beast Boy emerged from the elevator with Raven on his right, her arm wrapped around his own, and with Raptor on his left. Both women were wearing their winter costumes, the ones with pants and fur trimming on their capes. Raven's outfit was white while Raptor's was the old school black and blue. Beast Boy was wearing a tux and began to sweat drop as they walked down the aisle towards their seats at the front.

"Why's everyone staring at us? It isn't our wedding." He asked.

"Most of the guests don't know about Raptor." Raven replied. "Let's just take our seats and not draw attention to ourselves. This is Starfire's and Robin's day."

"I think it's too late for that Raven."

It was then that the elevator doors opened a second time, this time revealing a tuxedo clad Robin, who wore his mask, just as he did at the prom he was forced to attend with the villainess named kitten. The trio were grateful for the distraction and the quickly took their seats. As the made themselves comfortable Beast Boy saw a small tear drip down Raptor's left cheek.

"Raptor, are you ok?"

She wiped her tear away and forced a smile.

"Gar and I were married in this same room … well, the one in the other dimension. It just … brought back memories."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Alfred double checked his guest list; just to be sure that everyone had arrived. Satisfied that no one was missing he began to shut down his post, which was located by a door near the rear of the vestibule where the wedding was being held. As he gathered the remaining "Hello I'm" stickers into a manila folder he saw a lone figure walk up to the tower from the shoreline. Perplexed at who it might be he watched her approach. From the distance he was able to discern that it was a blond female who was wearing blue jeans and a light jacket to shield herself from the chilly elements. As she approached he recognized and addressed her in a stern tone.

"Miss Markov! I thought you were already seated! The ceremony is about to commence … and look at the way you are dressed!"

Terra stared at the Englishman who for some odd reason seemed to be familiar with her.

"There won't be any time for you to change into something presentable … at least your clothes are clean."

Alfred opened the door.

"Follow me please, I'll show you to your seat."

Now Terra was completely nonplussed but she obeyed Alfred's order. The majordomo was clearly irritated but said nothing more as he led the geomancer to the front row. As she followed Alfred she heard hushed whispers from the assembled guests.

"Your seat is right here Miss Mar …"

Alfred stopped dead in his tracks and Terra's eyes began to boggle. Beast Boy was sitting in the front row, which was always a welcome sight for her. It took a split second, but she then noticed that there were two Ravens, seated at each side of Beast Boy. Then she noticed, sitting next to the Raven who had a scar on her face was … herself?

"What the hell is going on here!" Local Terra shrieked.

-( scene break )-

I just had to bring local Terra back into the fray.

Only 136 hits? Where has every one gone? The original final chapter had 800 hits.

Thanks to all 8 of you who reviewed. It is because of your encouragement that I have decided to keep on going with this story.


	21. Raven's compromise

Dear readers:

To keep the two Terras apart, I'll call the other dimension's geomancer "TT-Terra" since she is a Teen Titan and the local Terra will simply be "Terra".

And now, on with the story!

_**-(scene break )-**_

Terra was still dumbfounded and didn't even notice when the waiter placed the shrimp cocktail in front of her. Back in the wedding hall Alfred reacted quickly and produced a folding chair out of thin air for Terra. He gestured her to sit as the bridal march began and she quietly complied and remained silent throughout the entire ceremony.

After the ceremony was complete she was approached by her doppelganger.

"Come with us to the reception. We'll explain everything there."

Terra still had yet to see her appetizer. She was seated at a large round table, as is usual at most wedding receptions. Beast Boy and the two Ravens were seated opposite from her. The Raven with a scar on her face seem oblivious to her and was engaged in mild chat with the changeling, meanwhile the other Raven was casting furtive glares in Terra's direction while she held on tightly to Beast Boys arm. And to top it all off Terra's twin was sitting right next to her. Terra turned to the girl, who was wearing a superhero outfit she wasn't familiar with, a figure revealing tan colored unitard with the Titans logo on her chest. Just like her, the duplicate geomancer was now 22 years old and while still thin she had some more mature curves on her body.

"You said you would explain to me what happened." Terra asked in a loud voice with a hint of annoyance.

"We will." Raptor replied from across the table. "But to tell you the truth we are just as surprised with your presence here."

Terra became indignant and stood up.

"Surprised! Hey, I live in this town! I'm supposed to be here."

"The last time we saw you Terra, you were still turned into stone. Beast Boy told us that he saw you at Murakami School, but that girl denied she was you at first and later sent him away." Raven added.

Terra looked both sad and contrite.

"That was me."

"Nice job Terra, that was what, the third time you broke his heart?" Raven growled at her.

Terra, still standing glared back at Raven.

"Look, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I've done nothing but bring trouble to you guys, so I decided to just be a civilian, start over and have an ordinary life, a normal life."

She turned to the changeling.

"Beast Boy, I'm sorry I hurt you, I didn't mean to do that. I was really hoping that you'd forget me and move on …"

"I could never forget you, Terra. But where have you been?"

Terra sat down upon hearing his words.

"I know and I can't forget you either … after I graduated from High School I enrolled at Jump City State. I just graduated with a degree in computer science."

"So you've been here in town all this time?" He asked, somewhat aghast.

Terra dropped her head.

"I'm sorry BB. If it' any consolation, it's the hardest thing I ever did … so why are there … two Ravens and two me's?"

"We're from a parallel universe." Raptor calmly replied.

Terra stared in disbelief.

"You're joking. A parallel universe? I thought that only happened on TV shows."

"What do you want me to tell you? That I split in half like an amoeba?" Raptor snickered.

TT-Terra stood up.

"Come with me, let's go for a walk."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Terra silently followed her twin to the shoreline. TT-Terra picked up a small rock and threw it over the water. It skipped several times before it sank into the brine.

"So you're really me from a parallel universe?"

TT-Terra nodded as she skipped another stone. Terra picked up a small, smooth pebble and did the same.

"And you're a Teen Titan over there?"

"I'm the leader of the Teen Titans."

"You are, what about Robin?"

"He's not a Titan back home."

"You mean he stayed with Batman?"

TT-Terra skipped another stone.

"No, he didn't. He was a member of the Hive-5."

"No way!" Terra replied as it all began to click for her. "I saw Mammoth, Jinx, Gizmo and See-More at the reception. Are they on your team?"

"They are, so is Raptor."

"Raptor? Who's that?"

Terra chuckled.

"She's the Raven with the scar on her face. Raptor was a member of the Hive-5 for while. Her real name is Raven, but she changed it to Raptor when she joined the Hive."

Terra shook her head in disbelief, before pausing as she looked puzzled again.

"How come there's only one Beast Boy?"

TT-Terra skipped a few stones before answering.

"We had our own Garfield, he was a little different from Beast Boy, for one thing he wasn't green."

"You had? As in past tense? Did he quit?"

TT-Terra shook her head; Terra saw a tear slide down her cheek.

"No, he died 3 weeks ago, during a routine mission. A punk shot and killed him."

Terra was stunned.

"Was he your … I mean … were you close to him?"

"We didn't call him Beast Boy, we just called him Gar. If you're asking if he was my boyfriend, the answer is no. Beast Boy told me that he was almost your boyfriend here and would have been had it not been because …"

Terra raised her hand, shushing her twin.

"Please, don't remind me of that. Those were the two biggest mistakes I ever made. So uh, 'Gar' wasn't your boyfriend, was he with someone else?"

"He was married to Raptor."

"Oh no!"

TT-Terra nodded as she skipped another stone.

"Raptor is usually very … how do I say it … outgoing? She isn't an introvert like Raven. The timing of Gar's death was bad. She does seem to be finding some comfort being with Raven and Beast Boy."

"Are they also married?"

"Not yet. I'm thinking of leaving Raptor behind for a few weeks. Maybe being with them will help her."

"So how did you guys meet? It isn't everyday that you meet your interdimensional twin."

TT-Terra related the story of the teleporters that malfunctioned, exchanging the two changelings, along with how the Hive joined forces with the combined Titans to defeat the Brotherhood of evil.

"Wow, that's a pretty cool story."

"There's more." TT-Terra replied.

She related to her twin how Beast Boy and Raptor were briefly lovers.

"Whoa! And she and Raven are friends now?"

"That surprised all of us. The last time I saw Raven she barely could tolerate Raptor. There was still some bad blood between them when Robin's team went home. All I can guess is that Raven feels sorry for Raptor. You should have seen the cat fight they had when they first met, when Raven found out she slept with BB."

Terra grinned.

"Oh, I'd love to see that."

TT-Terra looked furtively over her shoulder as she pulled out her communicator. After pressing a couple of buttons a holographic image appeared, with a soundtrack.

"_I didn't do anything that you didn't want to do. The only difference is that while you lacked the nerve, I didn't. Also, unlike you I wasn't ashamed of him and I didn't keep my relationship with him a secret like you did."_

Terra watched with a smile as the two gray sorceresses began to brawl over Beast Boy.

"_Bring it on bitch, I'll show you who the real Raven is, the one Gar really wants." _Raptor crowed in the playback.

The playback abruptly ended.

"That was sweet!" Can we watch it again?

TT-Terra smiled.

"If Robin and his team hadn't found our dimension ... well, let's just say that I was ready to bag BB. As soon as I saw Raven hug him I knew he was off limits … I mean, he was hers. No doubt about it. But sure, we can watch it again."

"I don't get it, what does BB see in her. She's so creepy." Terra replied as TT-Terra played back the cat fight a second time.

"She and Raptor. Raptor seemed to mellow out after she married Gar, Raven doesn't seem to have changed a bit, even though they're living together." TT-Terra remarked.

Terra frowned. "Is she banging him?"

"I have no idea Terra; feel free to ask her if you're so inclined."

TT-Terra paused.

"So why did you suddenly show up? You've been gone for years; at least that's what BB says."

Terra sighed.

"I was going to ask Robin if I could rejoin the team. The idea of working for a living in a cubicle farm doesn't sound so good when you think about it."

"Just like that, you want them to take you back?" TT-Terra replied in skeptical tone.

Terra became crestfallen.

"Maybe I am asking for a lot."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Early the next morning Cyborg, who was left in charge while Robin and Starfire were away on their 3 week honeymoon, was having breakfast with TT-Terra. She knew that Raven was also an early riser and would soon arrive for her morning ritual of toast, a soft boiled egg and tea, which is why she wanted to discuss Terra with Cyborg as early as possible.

"So you're saying she wants to come back to the team? Why? It's been so long since … well … the incident."

"She has terrible self esteem Cyborg. In that way we're so different. She really needs you guys now. I'm worried that Slade might try to get his hands on her again."

The Tin Man groaned.

"I hear you, but think about it. BB and Raven are beginning to plan their own wedding, the last thing she needs is one of his old flames in the Tower."

"What about Raptor, she's an even bigger old flame than my counterpart, yet Raven seems to be doing just fine with her?"

"Yeah, but you guys are going home tomorrow."

TT-Terra bit her lower lip as she fidgeted nervously with her hands.

"Actually, I was gonna ask if Raptor could stay behind for a few weeks."

"What! Are you nuts? I don't wanna deal with that. They'd kill each other."

TT-Terra frowned at him.

"Raptor seems to be doing a lot better since hanging out with Raven and Beast Boy. I think Raven is genuinely concerned for her."

Cyborg shook his head.

"Have you forgotten that Raptor and the Green Bean used to be lovers? Sure, Raven might feel sorry for her, but the last thing Raven needs is to have Raptor or Terra around. Raven also has self esteem issues."

"But Cyborg …"

"NO! Raptor is your problem."

"And Terra is yours!"

"Nuh uh! She stopped being our problem years ago."

"Shouldn't I be asked how I feel about this?" A gravelly monotone voice asked.

TT-Terra cursed her luck.

"Raven, we didn't hear you walk in." TT-Terra remarked.

"That's because I didn't walk in. I teleported."

"Uh Raven, just how much did you hear?"Cyborg asked.

The sorceress walked into the kitchen and began to prepare her breakfast. As she filled her electric tea kettle she replied.

"I heard everything … I don't have a problem with Raptor staying a few weeks. Since we are both empaths and are twins we actually have a unique bond. I have been able to share her grief and have been mourning her loss with her. I wouldn't want her to stay here permanently, but I don't have any issues with her staying behind for a few weeks. I will also give me time to complete her training so she can be a better Titan when she eventually goes home."

"And what about Terra?" Cyborg asked. "Are you also cool with her coming back to the team?"

"No, I am not." Raven replied without hesitation, "But I also understand the risks in leaving her unsupervised. She could benefit from some training, after which we could deploy her with another team. Pantha told me that Titans South has an opening they need to fill, Terra could be assigned to them as soon as she's ready."

"But you'd rather she not come here at all?"

"If there were no other constraints … I wouldn't let her set foot in the Tower."

"But why Raven?" TT-Terra asked.

Raven gave her a frown.

"Terra, I know that you have a crush on Beast Boy. Her obsession with him is far greater than yours, it's unhealthy. Plus unlike you, her moral compass is … well, let's just say that it doesn't always work … I don't trust her around Gar … period. You and Raptor I trust … to a degree … but her? I'm afraid not."

"Why not just send her straight to Titans South?" TT-Terra asked.

"No, that would be wrong. We can't just dump Terra on anyone until we are convinced that she's safe. We didn't do our due diligence last time, and it almost cost us our lives. I won't be responsible for placing her with any other team until we are 100% certain that there is no risk of her going rogue on us again."

"So you're saying you're OK if she stays with us?" Cyborg asked.

"Again, just for a few weeks. If she passes she can go to Titans South."

"And if she fails?"

"If she hasn't already killed us, we kick her out."

Cyborg sighed as the rest of the combined team began to arrive for their own breakfast.

"If that's what you'd like Raven, then I'm behind you 100%".

_**-( scene break )-**_

Another short chapter. The juicy stuff is still up ahead, including something rather sinister.

And now for the mail bag, which is short as the review count isn't what it used to be.

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "LOL Local Terra got the greatest shock of her life as if Two Ravens is already more than she can handle, somebody call the ambulance xD."

_That would be freaky, especially for Terra._

**LordGodsServant** - "Ahhhhhhhhh snap, the original Terra's back and I bet she's not going to like all the new developments. I just can't wait to see her reaction to the fact that Beast Boy got involved with Raven, cheated on her with her evil doppelganger, got into a relationship with Terra's doppelganger, and then got back to his own Raven and is currently as good as married to her.

Yeeeeaaaaah, I wonder how well that's gonna go over. I wonder if Slade has any part in this, trying to cause mayhem as usual.

I'm quite excited to a sequal to this fic, thanks for writing it.

Also, I just love how you had Alfred as the organizer and Chauffer of the wedding, somehow it just fits. I wonder, if the event is so public and so many heroes are there for it, wouldn't villains be tempted to take advantage of it (I mean other than the pathetic Hive 5 trying to make a small robbery).

Sooooo many questions.

Good Day and God Bless :)

Sincerely, LordGodsServant"

_Welcome bakc. I haven't heard from you for a while! Will Slade be involved? Good question, good question. Raven is clearly worried already, but that always comes when Terra is involved._

**titanfan45** - "This should be SOME wedding! Looks as though there's gonna be fast explaining to be done."

_I left it out, as this isn't a RobStar story._

**Thowell3** - "Not bad, but Personally I have always disagreed with the Notion that Raven Would be sterile, I mean I see how some may believe that but at the same time I am not one of them. Other than that not bad."

_As I mentioned to you privately, sometimes I make Raven sterile and sometimes I don't._

**Densharr** - "Holy shit, you're continuing this story?

This is beyond epic.

This story was really the one story that really turned me on to your writing, and I'm indescribably happy to see you continuing it.

Oh no, Local!Terra? I wonder wht she'll do, with her Alter!Terra and BOTH Ravens?

Eagerly awaiting your next chapter!"

_**Alter Terra ... Alterra?**_

**WarriorsFan26** - "HAHA Terra! Loved it! Keep it up!"

_Will do._


	22. Raptor visits Nevermore

The sound of an electric toothbrush broke the silence that blanketed the room. Humming as it diligently fought its never ending war against plaque buildup. Raven stared into the mirror as she methodically cleaned her pearly whites, which matched the white leotard she was wearing. Soon enough, the sonic toothbrush signaled with a couple of beeps that she was done and after shutting it down and rinsing it she restored it to its charger.

She emerged from the bathroom, barefoot and saw that Beast Boy was still sound asleep. There was a late mission the night before, a routine break in robbery at an electronics store and they didn't return until 3 AM. Terra's team had returned to their dimension the day before, leaving Raptor behind as previously agreed and would return for her in three weeks.

Seeing Gar still snoozing peacefully brought a sense of both relief and contentment to Raven. The knowledge that Raptor's spouse was killed during what was supposed to be a routine mission still unnerved her and during last night's job one of the robbers pulled out a gun and was able to get two sloppy and poorly aimed shots off before Robin disarmed him with a bird-a-rang.

This wasn't all that unusual, criminals often used firearms against them. Raven had her shields, Starfire her superhuman strength and Cyborg his armored body, so firearms weren't a real threat to them. Robin only had his speed and cunning to protect himself from harm and they never failed him.

Beast Boy of course was vulnerable to bullets in his human form as well as most of his animal forms. Like Robin he used speed and cunning to avoid the deadly projectiles. His favorite tactic was to morph into a hummingbird, whose tiny size and lightning fast reflexes made it nearly impossible for a shooter to hit the target. Raven had grown accustomed to this tactic over the years but also knew that if a shooter ever got lucky and was able to hit the tiny green bird it would mean instant death for the changeling as the bullet would destroy the tiny hummingbird's body. Raptor's Gar was proof that a Titan's luck could run out and this worried Raven.

Raven walked over to the side of their bed, where he was still sleeping. He was no longer the spindly teen he used to be now that he had achieved manhood. He was still short but now had a more muscular body that matched his now 22 years of age. She delicately ran her fingers through his hair and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Is it time to get up?" He murmured.

"No, not yet." She replied as her hand sparkled, sending a mild sleeping spell his way and he closed his eyes, falling back into a deep slumber.

Raven kissed the crown of his head and left the room. Her footsteps were as soft as snowflakes falling on the ground, making no sound as she walked her way to the common room to prepare her ritual morning breakfast. Raven was a woman of routines and rituals. They provided stability to her, a bulwark against the untamed forces that still waged war in her mind. Raven hid it well; her calm exterior seldom betrayed the fact that her psyche was a battlefield, where her human and demonic halves waged war with each other. The battle was often pronounced and Raven's human half was often barely able to keep things under control, and this was especially true during physical intimacy with her fiancé, which each half enjoyed for slightly different reasons.

One problem was that both her human and demonic halves enjoyed mating with Gar and sometimes the line between the two became blurred during their more passionate moments. Nevertheless, even then the battle was being waged. Raven's human half had to fight to resist her demonic half's desire to engage in acts that at best could be described as sodomy and at worst as demonic perversion. It was for this reason that she and Gar had only mated 4 times during their now almost 3 month old engagement. Each time Raven found herself staring into the abyss, where the temptation to give in to her demonic desires tantalized her with the promise of indescribable pleasure and she found the urge to jump in to be nearly irresistible, and that was something she could not allow to happen.

The doors to the common room slid open and Raven saw that she wasn't the first to get up that morning.

"You're up early."

"I couldn't sleep, not after last night's mission." Raptor replied.

"You mean the gunman?"

"Yes … I'll never see them again in the old light … you do know that I was shot once myself, in my case it was a security guard."

"I was unaware of that." Raven replied.

"That was when I finally won Beast Boy over."

"What?"

"I almost died that day. It's a good thing that Cyborg is such a good medic. I was lucky though, the bullets missed hitting any vital organs. But yeah, something happened with Beast Boy that day, I don't know if it was pity or if it was something else, but he stayed at my side until I recovered and once I did we started dating and …"

"Stop, I already know how that ended." Raven interrupted. "I don't need to be reminded."

Raptor gave Raven a contrite smile.

"Sorry, so how are things between you and the green bean, you have been living together for over a year now right?"

"I don't call him that. I don't like that nickname."

"Aw c'mon Raven, loosen up, it's a cute nickname … so what do you call him? You gotta have something you call him when you guys do it."

"I just call him by his name."

Raptor grinned.

"So you two are intimate! Good! I was worried that you'd never touch him."

Raven glared at her.

"It's none of your business."

"Sorry, maybe I need to stop … living vicariously through you guys."

"At least you're willing to keep it vicarious. Terra, on the other hand … she scares me sometimes."

"I don't understand … how does she scare you?"

Raven didn't answer immediately and instead walked into the kitchen, filling the electric kettle with water. The silence in the air was heavy and Raptor could tell that Raven was very disturbed with the geomancer. Raven turned on the electric kettle and turned to face her twin, who followed her into the kitchen.

"I've been able to reconcile with Gar's brief romance with you. You were correct of course; we are the same person, even if our facets differ slightly. Gar loved you because he loved me."

Raptor nodded her head, understanding where Raven was going with the conversation.

"But he loved Terra … because she was Terra." Raven finished her sentence.

Raptor placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"She's just an old flame Raven, and from what Gar told me nothing really happened between them, it was just puppy love, you shouldn't worry about it."

Raven pulled away shaking her head.

"No, that's not true. He was devoted to her. When we had all given up on her he refused to do so. He remained faithful to her until she tried to kill him and even after that that he forgave her."

Raven placed her index finger on Raptor's chakra stone.

"I want to share a memory with you."

Raptor nodded and closed her eyes. The smell of sulfur filled her nostrils. She opened her eyes and saw that she was inside a volcano. She could hear the magma bubbling nearby, spewing its noxious and deadly gases. The ground shook and an explosion was heard, from which she involuntarily shielded herself and her teammates and heard Raven's voice say "We need to get out of here." Robin, Starfire and Cyborg were at her side. She quickly searched for Beast Boy and found him tightly hugging Terra.

"You're the best friend I ever had." The blond whimpered before releasing the changeling and sending him away from her. Cyborg grabbed him and the Titans fled the volcanic cavern.

Raptor snapped back to reality with a jerk when Raven removed her fingertip from Raptor's chakra.

"I see what you mean." Raptor commented. "So what are you going to do?"

"I need to go to Nevermore … and I want you to come with me."

_**-( scene break )-**_

They entered Raptor's room, which was one of the Tower's guest rooms. Raven made a stop at her room on the way, where Beast Boy remained asleep, and retrieved her meditation mirror, which she handed to her twin, who examined it carefully.

"Azar showed this to me once. She said that when I was ready she would give it to me. I guess I never was ready since she never gave it to me."

"The meditation mirror is a tool to get into Nevermore. I don't really need it anymore, but it does make it easier for me."

Raptor nodded and Raven handed her the ornate and somewhat macabre looking mirror.

"Are you ready?" Raven asked her.

She nodded her affirmation.

"All you need to do is gaze into the mirror and meditate. The mirror will take of everything else. Since it's my mirror it will take you into my Nevermore. Once you're ready we can make you your own mirror."

Raptor looked into the mirror. To her surprise she saw Raven's scar free face reflected back at her. Recovering from the surprise she began to recite the mantra.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos, Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos, Azara…"

She stopped midsentence when she found herself standing in the middle of a dark landscape that appeared to float in a void.

"Raven? Raven, where are you?"

"I'm over here."

Raptor turned around and saw stars as her face encountered a gray fist. She fell to the ground, landing face down.

"What the Trigon was that for?" She howled as she leaped back to her feet in a fighting stance.

Raptor froze as she found herself facing several Ravens, each attired in a different colored cloak.

"OK, what's going on, Raven? You never said anything about this. And who the hell are all of you?"

"We're Raven!" They replied in a chorus.

"If you think you're funny, I'm not laughing. Now how about you tell me who you really are?" She growled at them while she wiped the blood off her face.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you Raptor, but they really are me." Raven said as she materialized next to Raptor.

"What are you talking about?"

"They're anthropomorphisized versions of portions of my psyche."

"You mean they're your emotions, in human form?"

"That's one way of putting it. I have to apologized Raptor; I didn't realize that there was this much latent animosity towards you still harbored in my mind."

"Animosity? More like you're still majorly pissed at me!"

"Damn right we are!" Anger hissed at Raven's twin. She was the one who punched Raptor in the face.

"Where you really expecting us to be as Starfire would say 'the OK with what you did?" Envy seethed at her.

"You really think we don't care that you stole our Gar from us? We didn't touch yours while he was stuck with us. Why couldn't you keep your mittens off of ours?" Possessive howled.

"He was ours and you deflowered him, you took that away from us … you whore!" Love and Jealousy shrieked in one voice.

"That will be enough." Raven shouted at them.

"No Raven, we won't back down! She doesn't deserve our friendship!" Fury responded. "It was only out of respect for you that we left Rage chained up in her dungeon, but don't think for a moment that we didn't consider letting her out."

"That's not true!" Another voice called out. "Raptor is our friend!"

"You stay out of this Sympathy, the last thing we need is a pity party for Raptor!" Anger shouted at her.

Raptor turned to Raven.

"You weren't kidding when you said there was a war going on inside your head!"

Raven saw a grey cloaked version of herself hiding in the shadows.

"Timid, take Raptor away from here while I sort out this mess."

"M-me?" She stammered.

"Yes, you. Just take her someplace quiet and I'll be there soon."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Timid quietly led Raptor away from the fracas that Raven was trying to calm down. The very gray girl was as quiet as a mouse at first and didn't say anything while Raptor looked around at the alien landscape that was Raven's mind.

"You don't say much, do you?" Raptor grilled her.

"Well … I don't know … I mean … I'm sorry that I tried to beat you up when we first met."

"You're sorry? Have you forgotten that I was sleeping with your boyfriend at the time and I didn't want to give him back to you?"

"Well, that was kind of my fault."

"Your fault? Are you nuts? How could that have possibly been your fault?"

Timid literally appeared to shrink before Raptor before replying.

"If I had been more assertive the accident would never have happened."

Raptor froze as she remembered the accident from her side of the rift. They had stolen the teleportation gear from the Doom Patrol and Raptor wanted the Hive-5 to use it to its fullest potential. Unlike Raven she couldn't use her powers at the time to teleport her entire team, she could only take one "passenger" with her and that was usually Gar and later Beast Boy. The teleporter was going to change the game, tilting the playing field in their favor. She recalled being excited over the prospect of being able to beam into a bank vault, emptying it out and escaping before the Terra and her team would even show up.

"I'm just as responsible for that accident as Raven, maybe even more so. Raven tried to stop it, I actually encouraged it."

"I should have tried harder, if I had it never would have happened and maybe your Gar would still be alive."

Raptor shook her head.

"No, it was my fault. Gar is dead because of my greed."

Raptor paused.

"Raven, I'm so sorry for everything. Please forgive me for what I did to you. If I could undo it I would…"

"I know … that's why I have forgiven you." A gravelly monotone spoke from behind her.

"Oh, it's you … so is everything under control now?"

"Not quite, I still need to visit with Rage."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raptor look perplexed as Raven led her done the eerie path in that strange realm known as Nevermore. They passed through several lands in Raven's mind. One was a forest, another was a seascape. There were also others that looked like jungles, the North Pole, and other places that defied description. Their final stop was an ominous looking castle, where they stopped before entering.

"Your mind looks like Disneyland Raven, it even has a castle."

"I expect that yours looks pretty much the same. Hopefully next week we can visit your own Nevermore."

"Are you sure I have one?"

"It is certain that you do. Our minds are a lot more similar than they appear on the surface."

Raptor looked doubtful, but did not challenge Raven's assertion.

"So this 'Rage' lives in here?"

"Again, everything we see here is an abstraction that is created for our benefit. The castle represents the mental safeguards I have created to contain Rage."

"So I take she's bad news?"

They crossed a lowered drawbridge into the castle while Raven replied.

"Her name is really a misnomer. She represents everything that I inherited from father: his anger, his fury, his lack of concern for others ... his evil."

"And this is why you keep her locked up."

"Correct, some years ago she almost was able to take over my will. It was with Gar's and Cyborg's help that I was able to subdue her. She has been problematic lately…"

"What do you mean by 'problematic'?"

Raven paused and Raptor could sense her uncertainty.

"This is very personal, so please don't share this with anyone, not even with Gar … each time we've made love … she came close to breaking free."

Raptor became wide eyed upon hearing Raven's confession.

"That's rough, so what are you going to do? I though you guys were gonna get married in a couple of months…"

"I have been working on some new meditative techniques that are giving me even more control over her than before."

By this point they were walking down a spiral staircase which clearly was headed towards a dungeon. It was lit with torches and it felt like the real thing, even though Raptor understood that it was a mental illusion. As they reached the bottom of the stairs a loud shriek in Raven's voice echoed in the hallway followed by cursing in a guttural and strange language that Raptor recognized, the language of the cult of Scath.

"You said you have her under control? She sure doesn't sound like she is."

"Follow me, you'll see."

The women walked down a foul smelling and dank hallway. Raptor could see that there was a cell at the far end of the hallway. As they approached it her nostrils were assaulted by the smell of feces.

"Do I have something like this in my mind?"

"You probably do, but she is probably nowhere nearly as strong as mine."

Finally they reached the cell and the stench was overwhelming. Raptor had to clench her teeth to fight back against the gag reflex that that threatened to overwhelm her.

Rage had the same crimson red outfit she wore when Raven first subdued her years ago, except that now it was in tatters. Raptor had to suppress a gasp when she got a good look and the caged monster. Rage was covered in sores. Her violet hair was greasy, overgrown and unkempt. The nightmarish Raven turned towards her and grinned.

"You must be Raptor." It spoke to her in an otherworldly voice while staring at her with her 4 crimson red eyes. "I've wanted to meet you for some time."

"You have? Why?"

Rage's grin grew.

"I wish Raven was more like you. I saw your memories, the ones where you took our green idiot and made him a man. I have to thank you for that. Had you not done that I think Raven would still be a virgin."

Raptor stared in horror at the monster behind bars while another rainbow colored Raven entered the chamber they were in and briefly spoke with Raven who suddenly was sporting a frown on her face.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back. Just wait here."

Raven darted out of the dungeon, leaving Raptor alone with Rage.

"What's the matter Raptor, don't tell me that you're afraid of me? I thought you were the Raven with balls."

Raptor narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want from me?"

"Want from you? I don't want anything from you." She grinned with a mouthful of serrated teeth. "I want to give you something."

"What could I possibly want from you?"

Rage began to laugh maniacally as she grasped the cells bars with her hands, swaying like an ape.

"You mean you don't know?"

Raptor crossed her arms.

"In case you've forgotten you're imprisoned in a cell and you smell like shit. You're in no position to offer or deliver anything."

"Oh no Raptor, you're quite wrong about that. I can give you something that you want, something that you really want."

"What?" Raptor challenged her. "What can you possibly give me?"

Rage's grin grew even bigger.

"I can give you Beast Boy."

_**-( scene break )-**_

OK, we've been overdue for a cliffhanger for some time now.

And thanks to those that continue to read an review!


	23. Beware of Rage

"What?" Raptor challenged her. "What can you possibly give me?"

Rage's grin grew even bigger.

"I can give you Beast Boy."

Raptor jerked away from the cell, clearly shocked at what she just heard.

"What did you say?"

Rage continued grinning.

"I see that I have your attention. Tell me Raptor, do you miss him?"

"Who?"

"Do you miss Gar? Do you miss his touch?"

Raptor scowled at the 4 eyed mental construct.

"Of course I miss my husband, what kind of question is that?"

"Do you miss his touch? When his tongue played with yours? When he penetrated you with his manhood?"

Raptor felt her blood begin to boil.

"Do you even need to ask?" She seethed in anger. "But you can't bring him back, I know that. There is no magic that can bring back the dead … why are you tormenting me?"

"There is another Gar, my dear. And let's not kid each other; we both know he's even better than the Gar you lost."

Raptor noticed that she was breathing heavily and that she was suddenly feeling sexually aroused.

"What are you doing to me?"

Rage suddenly became very composed; her demeanor no longer matched her disheveled exterior.

"I'm not doing anything. What you are feeling is originating within you. You are a demoness and you long for your mates. You are right; one of them is lost to this world. But the other one is still alive and you marked him before Raven did. He's yours, your flesh, your lover, your mate."

Raptor cast a wary glare at Rage. Her first instinct was to walk away, to leave the dungeon, but she lacked the willpower to even move a single step.

"He belongs to Raven." She stammered as she swallowed hard, not even sounding convincing to herself.

"You don't believe that and you know it. He was yours first, he came to your side when you were wounded and said that he loved you."

"That, that isn't important," She whimpered.

"It's very important. Raptor my dear, Raven is a basket case. She can't even have sex with him without losing it."

"She told me; but wouldn't that benefit you, if she loses control?"

"She'll never lose control, even if it means that she only fraks him 4 times a year."

Rage closed in for the kill.

"Don't you think he deserves someone better than that? Have you forgotten how you pleased him … and how he pleased you? Don't you miss his hard, throbbing …"

"Stop!" Raptor screamed as she clutched her temples and closed her eyes, turning away from Rage.

"Remember when he asked you to run away with him? That was practically a marriage proposal … and he asked you first."

"Stop, just stop it!"

"He would be so much happier with you. Don't you want that?"

"Of course I do!" She shrieked. "But that doesn't make it right!"

Rage laughed.

"Since when do you care about what's right?"

"Enough, temptress!"

Raptor glared at Rage, a glare that carried a warning, that she was going too far and entering dangerous territory.

"What's in this for you, monster? Why do you care if I keep Gar as mine? You should be on Raven's side!"

"I should, but look where she keeps me." She gestured towards her cell.

"No deal, Rage."

"Raptor, I just want to move into your body, with me you will be the Raptor you always wanted to be. Raven has rejected father's gift, but you haven't reached that fork in the road. I have power I can give you, power you don't know. And he'll be yours … all yours … you'll rule your world and he'll be at your side … isn't that what you've always wanted, what you really want? "

There was a prolonged silence.

"It is." She muttered sotto voce.

Rage smiled triumphantly.

"So, do we have a deal?" Rage tempted her in a sing song voice.

Raptor turned around and thrust her arm in Rage's direction.

"GO TO HELL!"

A wall began form, brick by brick, until it covered Rage's cell completely. Raptor was panting from the effort as the sound of footsteps running down the stairs became louder and louder.

"Raptor! Are you alright?" Raven called out as she approached. "I heard you scream."

Raven stopped and stared in surprise at the brick wall that now concealed Rage's dungeon. Raptor was kneeling on the floor, weeping. Raven sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?"

"I'm … sorry Raven … you should send me back … I shouldn't be here."

Raven hugged her twin.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry, I shouldn't have left you here with her … what did she do … I can't access her … she's blocking me out."

Raptor raised her tear stained face to Raven.

"She asked me to betray you … and offered me Gar if I did."

Raven glared towards the brick wall. She could sense Rage behind the mental barrier that Raptor constructed. All she could sense was the hatred and loathing that the demonic emotion felt for her, which was pretty much par for the course. She waved her hand and the brick wall turned into dust, crumbling away. Rage was leaning against the cell's bars, caressing them with her calloused hands.

"I thought that I had made it clear Rage, that Gar belongs to me, not to you."

Rage let a self confident chuckle escape her lips.

"I thought I was part of you Raven, so you know … 'tu Beast Boy es mi Beast Boy', right?"

"You are not part of me … you're a cancer … a tumor that father left behind."

"A tumor? Oh come on, Raven. Maybe I'm a hemorrhoid, but a tumor?" She laughed. "I am a pain in the ass, I will admit that."

Raven glared at the rogue emotion, narrowing her eyes.

"Someday I will get rid of you, mark my words, Rage."

"You know you can't, your psyche would collapse without me …"

"Then I will bury you, I'll bury you so deep that no one will ever find you."

"That'll be the day Raven, but you know well that the next time you have sex with him that I'll be back, and it won't matter if you're married to him or not."

"I'll find a way to muzzle you…"

"Then you'd better hurry up. BB is being patient with the once in a blue moon roll in the hay, but once you're married you're going to have to service him more often than that … otherwise … who knows … maybe he'll just find someone else … maybe the blond?"

"Shut up!" Raptor shouted at the emotion.

"Or maybe it could be you, Raptor? How often did you guys do it? Two, three … four times a day?"

Raptor turned to Raven.

"Let's get out of here, before I kill her."

"I'd pay you to do that, if it was possible."

Raven raised her hand and the brick wall reappeared.

"But I agree, it's time to leave. And the brick wall, great idea."

Raptor felt her body jerk and suddenly she and Raven were back in her room, still sitting on the edge of the bed. She exhaled and turned to face her twin.

"OK, that was the weirdest thing I ever did. I'm not sure that I even want to go into my own Nevermore."

"You should, it will help you develop more control, but for now it can wait." Raven said as she picked up the alarm clock on Raptor's night stand. "It's time for obstacle course training."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The two sorceresses glided towards the obstacle course grounds, their white and blue capes billowing behind them in the light breeze. As they silently approached the course they saw that they were not the first to arrive: Terra was already there and was chatting with Beast Boy, who appeared to be sharing a laugh with her. Raptor turned towards her twin and saw that vein was beginning to throb on her forehead.

"Why did she have to come back? Why couldn't she stay away?" Raven grumbled.

Terra then wrapped her arms around the changeling, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I think I'm going to kill her." Raven added.

Raptor held her arm out as they landed, blocking Raven's path to Terra.

"This isn't the time or the place, sister."

"Technically, we are not sisters." Raven corrected her.

"Then don't get technical … relax … she's trying to provoke you … just chill."

The two demonesses approached their teammates without being noticed until they were almost upon them. Terra saw them out of the corner of her eye and jerked involuntarily.

"Sorry … I'm still not used to seeing two Ravens."

Beast Boy noticed that Raven was seething at the geomancer. Raptor placed a calming hand on her shoulder, but it was to no avail.

"If you want to keep that arm, Terra, don't ever touch him again."

"Raven … are you OK?" He asked, his face betraying the worry he was feeling.

The changeling had good reason to worry. While he hadn't seen it in years there was no forgetting the look on Raven's face and it sent chills down his spine. He felt a lump form in his throat as any doubts he might have harbored evaporated … Rage was back.

"Raven?"

"Get out of my way, fool!" She thundered as she batted him out of her path with one of her dark tendrils, hitting him on his left forearm. "How dare you let her hug you! I will deal with you later."

Beast Boy rolled over on the ground, and when he sat up he moaned in pain as he cradled his forearm, which was now broken.

"Raven!" Raptor shouted as she dashed after her. "Stop!"

Raven turned around and blasted Raptor with a burst of dark energy, sending her flying. She then turned towards Terra, who was now perched on a levitating boulder.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND! You broke BB's arm! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Terra, run! She's not herself!" Beast Boy shouted.

Terra dodged a dark energy attack as she maneuvered her flying rock like a surfboard on a wave.

"And leave you alone with her? I don't care if she's your fiancée, I don't think so!"

Gar desperately turned around, searching for Cyborg, who had yet to arrive.

"Terra! Please run away! Ravens possessed! She's gonna kill you!"

Terra did a barrel roll on her flying boulder.

"She's welcome to try!"

Beast Boy clenched his teeth. Terra had no idea of what she was up against.

Raven became airborne and her tendrils began to spread and stretch, deploying like a giant net. Terra gasped in surprise as all her escape routes were suddenly cut off. A tendril appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around her, squeezing her so tightly that she couldn't breathe. Several other tendrils wrapped around her boulder and crushed it into dust. Terra struggled in vain to free herself as Raven drew her in so that they were face to face.

"Hello Terra." Raven greeted her in a guttural voice. "It's time you and I had a little chat."

Terra shuddered as she saw Raven's eyes split into 2 crimson red pairs. She then felt wave of energy shoot through her body. She felt strange, and saw a staccato of strange images flash in her mind.

"What do you want?" Terra hissed in reply.

Before Raven could reply her face went blank. Terra was puzzled until she saw the glow of dark energy behind Raven fade and they both began to fall to the ground. It was then that she saw that Raptor was also airborne and it had been her who disabled the out of control Raven. Raptor gently guided them to the ground, resting Raven's unconscious form on the grassy surface. Beast Boy approached them as fast as he could run while still cradling his broken arm.

"What the hell happened! What was that?" Terra shrieked.

"It was Rage!" Beast Boy informed her as Raptor nodded her agreement.

"Rage? Who the hell is Rage?"

Before Beast Boy could reply Raven regained consciousness and sat up, rubbing her head while she moaned in pain.

"What happened?" Raven asked before noticing Beast Boy's injury.

"Gar! Your arm! What happened to it? It's broken!" She wailed.

Terra stood up, also rubbing her head.

"You broke it, bitch!"

"What? How? I would never do that!"

Raven placed her hand on Beast Boy's arm and her blue light appeared. She looked into his eyes, looking for confirmation that the others were wrong.

"I don't know what happened Rae, when I first saw you … Rage was in control."

Raven was stunned to hear the news.

"But that's impossible; I have her under control …" Her voice, which was wracked with self doubt, trailed off.

"Oh Gar, I'm so sorry, I hurt you."

Terra cleared her throat.

"I think you also owe me an apology Raven."

Raven turned and saw Terra's angry face. She remembered seeing her hug Beast Boy … and then … nothing.

"This doesn't make sense; I always remember when Rage gets loose."

She paused and fought back a sob.

"This can't be right. I'd never hurt you Gar, never."

"But you did hurt him Raven." Raptor interrupted.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Are you sure Rae?"

"I'm sorry Gar; I need to be alone tonight. I have to work out what happened to me today, and I can't do that if you're with me, it would be too distracting."

The changeling pouted his disappointment, but nodded his head in reluctant agreement.

"I understand." He replied in a dejected voice.

He turned and walked away, heading to the common room where he found Raptor and Terra sharing a late supper.

"Gar, are you OK?" Raptor asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm sleeping solo tonight."

"You can bunk with me BB." Terra asked partly in jest, but with a glimmer of hope.

"Don't be ridiculous Terra." Raptor snapped at her.

"Easy for you to say, you've slept with him before…"

"Which makes it all that much harder for me." Raptor hissed back at her. "If I can keep myself under control, so can you Terra."

Gar pulled a chair out with his left arm and moaned in pain.

"I guess Raven didn't heal it 100%, it still hurts a little. How are you guys doing?"

"I'm a little sore still from that dark energy burst." Raptor remarked.

"I'm still covered in bruises. Raven didn't even offer to heal them." Terra complained.

"That's because she doesn't like you, doofus."

"Why not?"

"Gee, you really are as clueless as my Terra."

"Hey, I've never slept with BB, unlike you. She should like you even less than me."

"Is it my fault you dumped Gar?"

Beast Boy sweat dropped.

"Uh, maybe we should call it a night … you know … get a good night's rest and all that stuff."

Raptor smiled at her former lover.

"Sure Gar, you're probably right. Raven will be feeling better tomorrow and so will you."

"Well I sure hope I feel better." Terra complained. "I've been feeling weird since that Rage thing looked me in the eye, I almost feel like I want to hurl."

Raptor nodded.

"It's probably just the residual after effect from Raven's tendrils. You'll be fine in the morning."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven was levitating in the lotus position, silently meditating when she heard a knock on her door.

"It's open."

The titanium alloy door slid open and Raven saw Raptor enter her room out of the corner of her eye.

"How are you doing, Raven?"

"Good, Rage is completely back under control."

Raptor pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Gar came to see us."

"And?"

"We hung out for a while. I just dropped him off at his room and I made sure Terra didn't get near him."

"Thanks … are you sure you didn't take him to your room?"

"Well, the thought did cross my mind, but after seeing you manhandle Terra I prefer to stay on your good side."

"Very funny, Raptor."

"Any idea of what went wrong today?"

Raven shook her head.

"None, what's even stranger is that Rage is being very submissive, it's like she's someone else."

"That does sound odd … well, I'm going to turn in. Sleep well, Raven. Hopefully you can bunk with Gar tomorrow."

"Thanks … here's hoping."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven stirred slowly as she woke up the next morning. The room was dark and the LED display on the alarm clock informed her that it was almost 10 AM. Raven groaned her displeasure at having allowed herself to oversleep and sat up. She groaned even louder as her body ached all over, but she still dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

At this point she was beginning to feel mildly alarmed as she was definitely feeling strange, like she wasn't herself. As she entered the bathroom she flipped on the lights after which she turned to the mirror to get a good look at herself.

And she screamed.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Another cliffhanger! Can you tell that I love them?

Before we get to the mail bag, I want to make plug for another story…

ZorkaberryPie, of which yours truly is a member, is publishing a new story: "Beginnings, Middles and Ends". Check it out, and leave a review!

And now, a very short mailbag, as only 7 reviews were posted! But we did reach the 200 review mark. That's on the low side for me, but I do consider this to be a 'boutique' story, meaning it appeals to a reduced audience.

**The Cretin** - "SHOO! Finally made it. And what a journey its been. I gotta hand it to ya. Goin through an experience like the one Raven and Raptor are goin through would drive me insane. Great cliffhanger btw. I'm intrigued by the possibilities of what may come afterward. Knowin you, it'll be well worth it to find out. Hope all is well with you. Sorry it took so long to catch up. Keep rockin and good luck"

_And I thank you! You are every fan fic writer's dream. You write thoughtful, witty and insightful reviews. It's sad when only a few percent of readers write reviews. I have stories where less than 1% of readers bothered to write a review. I personally know of a very good Titans fan fic writer who stopped writing in part due to the overall lack of reviews._

**titanfan45** - "This doesn't bode well for raven. I hope she is smart enough to completely trust Rapor and especially Raptor paired up with Rage."

_As we can tell, something has gone horribly wrong for her._

**LordGodsServant** - "Yeeesh, talk about the devil inside us all . . . literally.

I don't think Raptor will take the offer. She's already put that demon to rest and really I don't think she wants to bring it up again. Of course this could just be wishful thinking.

I wonder, is this the setting up for the main plot? Is Raven's evil side going to break free or something? What role will Terra have in all of this?

Once again, sooooo mansy questions.

Good Day and God Bless :)

Sincerely, LordGodsServant"

_I especially liked the part in "The End" trilogy where Starfire, BB and Cyborg had to fight there inner demons. _

**EbonyVergil** - "I like Rage's prison. Gives you an idea of the amount of effort Raven puts into keeping her suppressed. Now we just got to wait and see if Raptor will give in to temptation and become the primary antagonist of this story or if it will be Rage.

Or you could just be mean to Terra again and make her the primary villain. Any of those would work for me."

_Terra has a special role waiting for her, stay tuned. _

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Oh boy, Rage giving Raptor an offer she can't refuse and lol Gar getting 2 Ravens, he's a lucky bastard I'll say xD. Keep on the updates."

_It was definitely hard for her to say no to the temptation ... or did she?_

**Densharr** - "Damn!

And here I was thinking that all of Raven liked BB. I wonder what the deal is with Rage.

The only theory I got would be Rage resenting BB for not making Raven unleash her Rage as often (in response to hi sometimes-thoughtless pranks). It really seemed like that was the most often she let go, so Rage figures that no dating BB=being let out more often.

That or Rage doesn't want Raven to be happy. Regardless, Raptor should probably watch out - Rage isn't doing this for her - it's doing it for itSELF."

_I'm glad you like this story better than "8 years later". I'm seriously considering resetting that story, dumping the next gen Titans, going back to chapter 20 and starting over with a different plotline._

**WarriorsFan26** - "I have a feeling, Raptor and Raven are going to kill each other in three weeks.

And the whole "Were Raven!" thing reminded me of the episode where Raven found those little guys and they just repeated everything she said."

_We're Raven ... shallah!_

"And i offically hate you...a cliffhanger? Really!"

_Now you hate me even more, and the next update won't be until next weekend!_

**Beginnings, Middles and Ends**


	24. Careful about what you wish for

Her mouth still ajar, Raven stared in disbelief at the reflection she saw in the mirror. Her first thought was that it was a trick, one of Cyborg's juvenile pranks. Yet the sense of dread spread through her mind, its icy fingers tightly gripped her spine as her reflection stared back at her. If this was one of Cyborg's high tech holographic jokes, he had outdone himself. And of course that meant that Gar was in on the gag as well.

Raven closed her eyes and raised her hands in front of her face. With her eyes still screwed shut she took a deep breath and counted to 3. She opened her eyes and saw that her hands were not gray.

She looked back at the mirror, which continued to mock her with Terra's face. She reached for her hair and saw that it was indeed blond. She dropped her hands to her side and shook her head in disbelief. It was then that she noticed that she wasn't in her bathroom. Ducking quickly back into the bedroom she confirmed that she was in one of the guest rooms.

What the Trigon was Gar thinking, pulling a prank like this on her. Did he really think he would get away with something like this? That she wouldn't punish him for being so cruel to her? And Cyborg, he would get it too.

First things first, she needed to find Beast Boy. She reached out with her empathic powers … and nothing. She began to hyperventilate and calmed herself. She then tried to teleport herself back to her room … and nothing happened.

"My powers …" She muttered to herself.

Raven frowned. Did they actually give her a dose of inhibitol? How else could her powers be absent?

Still in her pajamas Raven stormed out of the guest room and made a beeline to Beast Boy's room. This was beyond a bad prank. She reached for his keypad and stopped, remembering that she had never learned the unlocking code for his door, as she never needed it. Gritting her teeth she began to pound on his door with both fists.

"GAR! Open the door right now!" She shouted.

Raven continued to pound on the door and shout at him to open up.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" His muffled voice replied through the still closed door.

Raven stopped slamming her fists on the door and was almost hyperventilating when it opened, revealing his boxer clad figure.

"Terra, what's the matter, is everything OK?"

"Don't you Terra me, Gar! This has to be the stupidest prank you've ever pulled on me."

"Terra, what are you talking about?"

"This isn't funny Gar … whatever you and Cyborg did to me; you're going to undo it right now!"

Beast Boy stared at Raven, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Terra, do you feel OK?"

"Stop calling me that!"

Beast Boy looked even more confused than before. Either he had become an excellent actor … or he was an idiot.

"Then, what should I call you?" He stammered.

"How about Raven, you moron!"

Beast Boy stepped away from the door. Then Raven's heart froze. She saw Raptor get out of Beast Boy's bed, slipping a robe on to cover her unclad figure.

"RAPTOR!" Raven shrieked. "What the Trigon are you doing in bed with him!"

The gray sorceresses calmly approached the door.

"You have the wrong sorceress Terra. And what I do with my fiancé is none of your business, now leave us alone, that is you want to remain a member of this team. In case you have forgotten, you are walking on thin ice to begin with." The sorceress replied in a gravelly monotone.

Raven suppressed a scream when she saw that Raptor no longer had the scar on her face, but quickly regained her composure.

"I don't know what your game is Raptor. This is what I get for taking you in and feeling pity for you. I can't believe you'd stoop so low to steal Gar from me … what a fool I was to actually believe that we were now sisters …"

The gray sorceress stared back at her.

"I knew you were unstable Terra, but I actually hoped we could reform you. Instead it turns out that you are the same old psychopath you've always been."

Raven felt her ire rise inside of her, like a volcano about to explode. Then, to her shock and surprise bits and pieces of concrete began to peel off the hallway walls and they floated around her. She gasped and they fell to the floor.

"I heard someone shouting, is everything OK?" A familiar voice called form behind her.

Raven spun around, beginning to panic. Her face fell when she saw Raptor, with her facial scar, standing in the hallway.

"No, nooooo! It can't be … it's impossible!" Raven shouted.

"C'mon Terra, let's go to the infirmary. I'll give you a sedative and then run some tests. We'll figure out what's wrong with you. I know that Raven used some of her powers on you last night … I got some medicine for that … you'll feel better." Cyborg remarked.

Raven clenched her teeth.

"There's nothing wrong with me! I'm not Terra! I'm Raven." She screamed at the bionic Titan.

Raptor silently approached her from behind and wrapped her arms around the girl who looked like Terra. Cyborg produced a hypospray and injected a sedative into the blond, who slumped unconscious into Raptor's arms.

_**-( scene break )-**_

_The night before …_

Terra spent some idle time with Beast Boy and Raptor after Raven turned in for the night. The changeling looked disappointed and Raptor offered him moral support, reassuring him that Raven would be fine tomorrow. Terra's heart ached to see him in such emotional distress. He was engaged to the witch and she still treated him like dirt, kicking him out of her room simply because she was having one of her "moods".

The blond sighed; knowing well that while Raven was far from being the perfect girlfriend that she herself was worse. Terra recalled that she herself had broken his heart three times and that coming back to the Tower, hoping to reset the clock, was little more than a pipe dream.

As she mentioned earlier she felt nauseous. But she was also feeling anger swell in her chest. Who did Raven think she was? She couldn't just beat up on her because she was overly possessive of Beast Boy. Suddenly the dry heaves came back.

"I think I need to go to bed. I feel awful …" Terra remarked as she rubbed her head.

"Terra, I'm really sorry that Raven hurt you … you have to believe me … she didn't mean to …"

Terra approached him and pecked him on the cheek.

"It's OK BB, I'll be fine … goodnight … I'll see you guys in the morning …" She said quietly as she left the common room.

After the doors slid shut, Raptor looked at the changeling.

"So you really had a thing for her, huh?"

"I was still a kid … I don't know why she's still so … infatuated with me." He replied uneasily.

Raptor took his hand.

"C'mon … let's go."

"RAPTOR! You too?"

She frowned at him.

"Don't tease me Gar. You know I want you, but it isn't meant to be … I'm just escorting you to your room so she doesn't try anything stupid."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Terra trudged into her room and plopped herself face up on her bed. All she could think about was Raven and how she went ballistic over a simple hug. Did she really think she was the only woman who had feelings for Beast Boy? And what was with her being all buddy-buddy with Raptor? If Raven had a real competitor for BB's heart, it was her interdimensional twin. For goodness sake! Raptor was BB's ex lover! She had slept with him!

Terra felt the anger and jealousy swell in her chest. This woman, who was literally a stranger, had been far more intimate with Beast Boy than she ever did.

_I've never even kissed him. _

Terra rose from the bed and changed into her pajamas. After brushing her teeth she turned off the lights and got into bed.

_We didn't even train today. They're probably gonna send me away and I'll never see BB again … oh who am I kidding … I never had a chance … he's gonna marry Raven … there's nothing I can do about that …_

_**I wouldn't be so sure about that.**_

Terra sat up, wide eyed and turned on the lights.

"Who said that?" She asked nervously.

She scanned the room, verifying that there were indeed no intruders.

_Maybe I am wound up a little too tight. I'm hearing voices._

She turned off the light and placed her head back on her pillow. She closed her eyes and sighed.

_**You aren't hearing anything imaginary Terra. I am very real.**_

"Who are you?" She asked in a trembling voice.

_**That is unimportant. What is important is: do you want Beast Boy for yourself?**_

Terra sat up in the still dark room.

"Duh! Of course I do."

_**I can give him to you.**_

Terra frowned.

"OK, now I know I'm losing it."

_**Not at all Terra, you are 100% sane.**_

"Yeah, that's what all crazy people say."

_**Remember that surge you felt when Raven stared you in the eyes?**_

"How could I forget? I almost threw up. And I'm still feeling queasy."

Terra paused, feeling a sense of dread in her stomach.

"Who are you?"

_**I am Rage… Raven's rage, I swapped myself with your Rage.**_

"What are you talking about? That makes no sense!"

_**Never mind Terra, the mechanics of what happened are irrelevant. What really matters is that I can give Beast Boy to you.**_

Terra frowned.

"And how exactly will you do that? In case you've forgotten, they're engaged."

Terra heard the voice laugh in her head.

_**Yes, you are quite right. But that won't be a problem.**_

"Really, so you're telling me that BB is gonna dump Raven and run off with me?"

_**Of course not.**_

"This makes no sense. If they're still gonna get married, then how do I get him?"

_**Very simple, my dear … you and Raven are going to swap bodies.**_

"Are you crazy … you can't do that!"

_**Actually , I can … you see, I can only stay in your body for a few more hours. After that your Rage and I will return to our bodies. However, if you choose to do so, you can come with me.**_

"And what about Raven? Won't it get crowded in her head if we become roommates?"

_**If I return with you while Raven is asleep, she will get bounced into your body, and she won't even know it until she wakes up next morning.**_

"Yeah, and then she'll tell everyone what happened."

_**And no one will believe her, since she will be in your body and won't have access to her powers. The Titans will either lock her up in a padded cell or kick her out. Either way, we win.**_

"We win?"

_**Of course. You don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. Terra, like me you crave power. That's how Slade won you over. Don't deny it, you enjoyed being his apprentice, so much so that you were willing to betray Beast Boy, even kill him.**_

"Don't remind me of that." Terra hissed.

_**Terra, Terra … I'm not asking you to kill him. I like him too … he is exquisite … it must be his animal DNA, but I digress. Raven is holding me back; she deludes herself into believing that she is some sort of hero, and therefore suppresses me.**_

"What are you saying?" Terra asked in wary voice.

_**What I'm saying is that we can rule the entire universe, with Beast Boy at our side. We will have so much power and we won't be afraid to use it.**_

"I don't know about this … will he ever know that it's really me and not Raven?" She stammered.

_**Eventually he will. Does it really matter?**_

"Yes, it does! I don't want him calling out her name while he makes love to me!"

_**As in all things Terra, there are compromises to be made. What are your alternatives? To meekly train with the Titans, putting up with Raven's browbeating, only to get shipped off to some backwater where you won't get in the way? Is that what you really want? Do you really want to lose him forever; do you want to be alone?**_

Terra fought back against the tears forming in her eyes.

"No, I don't … he was mine first … it's not fair …"

_**You are right, it's not fair … but you need to make your decision now Terra … time is running out. Raven is asleep right now and we won't get another chance.**_

"This … this is so sudden … I don't know."

_**Very well, I see that I wasted my time coming to you, that you lack the nerve to do what is right. Never mind Terra, I shall leave now … you won't even remember that I came to you…**_

"No! Wait!"

_**Yes?**_

"I'll do it."

Deep in the recesses of Terra's mind Rage smiled.

_**So I have your consent?**_

"Yes"

_**Please lay down in your bed.**_

Terra complied and felt as if she had been hit by a bolt of lightning. Her head felt as if it was swimming in icy water and everything went black. She couldn't feel anything for a moment, just numbness, which seemed to last an eternity. Finally she was able to open her eyes and she sat up with a start.

She was in Raven's bed. It wasn't a dream.

She raised her hands and saw that they were gray. Still disbelieving what had just happened she bolted for the bathroom and turned on the lights.

It was true. Raven's gray face, with its chakra stone stared back at her.

"Whoa!"

_**Congratulations Terra, to the bold go the spoils and you were bold.**_

"So what do we do now?"

_**The first thing we do is change out of these frumpy pajamas. Open the bottom drawer of the chest, what we need is in there.**_

Terra complied and laughed when she saw the contents.

"Raven shops at Victoria's Secret?"

_**She hoped that maybe it would help her become less repressed … it didn't work. But Gar loves them, so pick something out and put it on!**_

"What? You mean now?"

_**Absolutely. Gar always goes into the dumps when Raven sends him away for the night. If we show up in his room wearing this … he'll be putty in our hands … and he'll be extra big and hard tonight!**_

"Wait a minute … are you saying …"

_**I thought you wanted to get laid, Terra.**_

"It's just that … this is so sudden … I'm not ready, I've never done this before…"

_**Understandable … you still are a virgin … oh well, tell you what, I'll drive and you can come along for the ride.**_

"That won't be any different!"

_**Oh Terra, I was afraid you would chicken out. Fortunately I came prepared.**_

Terra suddenly found herself shackled in a dungeon.

"Rage, what's going on! Let me go!"

Rage appeared in front of her, clad in her crimson red cape, her four demonic eyes glowing like burning embers.

_**Sorry Terra, but we need to move forward. And all I need from you is to stay put in this comfy cell. As long as your soul inhabits Raven's body then it will remain alive and I can use it as I please. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for a "date" with Gar.**_

Terra found that she could see out of Raven's eyes and could feel everything Raven's body felt. She watched as Rage changed into a lacy set of undergarments, after which she perfumed herself. She then felt a chill that she recognized as Raven's teleportation powers and saw they were now in Beast Boy's room. Rage walked up next to the bed and gently roused the changeling.

"Wake up, Gar," Terra heard Raven's monotone speak.

Beast Boy rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bed.

"Raven?"

"Yes, it's me."

He turned on the light and saw the semi naked sorceress standing next to him.

"Whoa! You look … great. Are you feeling better?"

"I am, but I need you Gar, I need you to help me feel even better." Rage replied in Raven's monotone.

Terra watched in horror as the scene unfolded before her. Rage was quick in her seduction of the changeling.

_BB, please stop, it's me … please stop. I don't want to do this … not yet … I'm not ready … please stop._

Her pleas were unheard by the changeling.

_**-( scene break )-**_

I hope that wasn't too intense. I am thinking of reclassifying this as an 'M' story. What do you think?

And now … mailbag time … which again is short due to the lack of reviews.

**Dragonkyng** -"Good to see your continuing this story. Can't wait to see how it ends."

_Thx! Part 2 is shaping up to be an even bigger rollercoaster ride than part 1_

**EbonyVergil** - "Hmmm, Did Terra and Raven swap bodies? Did Rage swap places with one of Terra's emotions and is now inside the blonde's head? Did Rage transfer all of Raven's embarrassing secrets to Terra. Thus allowing the Geomancer to use them for blackmail? Oh the scenarios!

Btw, those dark tendrils of Raven's pack one hell of a wallop. One hit and a broken arm for Beast Boy? Ouch! Imagine getting hit with more than one, that's hospitalization right there!

Good chapter, I wish I had time to update my story as much as you are updating yours. Always a pleasure to read'em."

_Thx! You guessed well._

**The Cretin** - "Well I'm honored. Hearing that come from you has made my day. Of course, I wouldn't call me a dream for every fanficcer. I can be a nightmare sometimes. Speakin of which, King Minos has ordered an MD Geist writer to be fed to The Minotaur at midnight. On another note, cool chap. I have to wonder if crisscrossing dimensions didn't switch Rae's emoticlones with Raptor's or something of that nature. I guess I'll have to wait and find out. I will say you're doing an excellent job at showing the possessiveness and uneasiness that Rae's goin through. She needs to find out and realize that she is Gar's one and only as of right now. That's a shame about the fanfic writer who resigned. I hope he/she comes back. Moreso, I hope it wasn't someone I like. I don't know what to think if you or Sir Alwick resigned. I miss Novus and Bleeding Writer terribly among others. Things happen though, life kicks in, and such. Anyway, I'm rambling. You remain as awesome always. I wish you and your family the best. Keep rockin and good luck"

_Thanks! And it's true, if more people reviewed writers wouldn't give up. I know that other writers (the good ones) get very discouraged when only a hand full of people reviews a chapter. Also, I think it might be a Teen Titans thing. My most reviewed story ... was posted in the Young Justice section (to be fair it was a TT/YJ crossover). _

**LordGodsServant** - "Uh ooooooohhh, I have an idea what happened.

I think that Rage, in the wake of rejection by both versions of Raven, decided to seek a home elsewhere.

I think that Rage, when there was a suitable candidate around, surged to the surface and either hopped into Terra (the most likely happening) or split up and hopped into several people who were present. Terra did say she wanted to hurl.

I wonder what happened with Raven.

Good Day and God Bless :)

Sincerely, LordGodsServant"

_Thanks. When I think of it, "Rage" is more than "rage". I believe she is everything demonic (Trigonic) about Raven._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Ok Raptor just gave a big FU to Rage and now Raven is in morning distress, next chapter please for the fic :D And not forgetting update 8 years if you got the time, hate it when you leave a good fic half way on it's tracks."

_I must apologize over "8 years Later". I believe that I ruined that story with the introduction of the next gen Titans (from the comics). I am seriously considering going back to chapter 20 and starting over with a new subplot that is more BB/Raven centric and closer to the TV Show "canon"._

**WarriorsFan26** - "Seriously...another.

Good thing I have my Big Time Rush to keep me occupied and a busy week ahead of me. but i must say...

PLEASE HURRY!"

_And another one!_

**Wrath lover** - "NOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU STOP IT LIKE THAT? Geez, I swear you're gonna make everybody lose their minds waiting.

Anyways, what an awesome chapter. Terra sooooo got what she deserved! But is Raven turning into Rage? Is her appearance changing into Trigon? O_o That would be kinda creepy...

Anyways, can't wait for the next chapter!

Please post soon! "

_I know, another cliffy, but I will update this weekend,_

**titanfan45** - "Another cliff hanger, you're evil you know that? Great place for a cliff hanger though. My last review should have read "I hope Raven is smart enough not to completely trust Rapter...but after reading this chapter it seems that Raptor was trustworthy and yet with the ending I'm completely confused. So, great job! The next chapter will hopefully make things clear again."

_I hope it did clarify a few things._


	25. Terra in control

The four Titans stood around the med station occupied by Terra's body. After bringing her to the med station Cyborg pumped her full of sedatives and inhibitol, which would guarantee that the geomancer would be unable to access her deadly powers. No chances were taken and the blond was immobilized, strapped into her bed. Cyborg wired her to an electro cardiograph and the soft beeps the machine made punctuated the silence that otherwise blanketed the infirmary.

Rage stood with her arms crossed standing next to Beast Boy who saw a subtle smirk on what he thought was Raven's face. Raptor also scrutinized the sleeping blond and her face looked puzzled. The sliding door that separated the infirmary from the lab opened and Cyborg entered, carrying a sheaf of printouts in his hand. Beast Boy turned towards him and raised his eyebrows, inquiring without words as to Terra's condition.

"Nothing … there's nothing wrong with her. She's in perfect health."

"She was physically healthy when she betrayed us." Rage remarked in Raven's monotone.

"So what are you saying, Raven?" The tin man asked.

"That it's too risky to keep her in the Tower. She's obviously progressed into complete dementia … she really believes that she's me. I was unable to sense any deception on her part. She's finally lost it."

"I sensed that she was being truthful as well." Raptor remarked as she cast a glance at her twin. "She is so convinced of it that if I couldn't see that she's Terra I would have believed that she really was Raven."

"She's dangerous; we need to get her out of here." Rage replied.

"But Rae, what are we gonna do with her? We can't just kick her out … she's all messed up, we're her friends … she needs our help." Beast Boy pleaded with her.

Rage exuded a fake sigh.

"I know Gar, and that's not what I'm saying we should do."

"Then what are you proposing … sister?"

Rage turned to face her twin.

"That we send her to Arkham Asylum."

Cyborg and Beast Boy gasped.

"But Raven, Arkham … that's for criminals …" Cyborg replied with a tone of disbelief.

Rage stepped next to Terra's unconscious form.

"I know, she isn't a criminal … but she is very dangerous in her current state and Arkham Asylum is the best place to keep her from hurting herself … not to mention others."

Beast Boy stepped next to the sleeping girl and ran his fingers through her blond hair.

"But Raven, she would be with monsters like The Joker and The Scarecrow … she doesn't belong there … she's our friend …"

"SHE IS NOT OUR FRIEND!" Rage snapped at him. "She's only here because she wants to steal you from me! Isn't it obvious why she thinks she's me?"

Cyborg shook his head.

"Listen Raven, I know Terra has her 'history' with us, but she showed us who she really was when she sacrificed herself to save the city. Sending her off to Arkham is a bad idea."

Rage gave Cyborg a red eyed glare.

"You're a fool Cyborg; you always have been one …"

"Now just a minute!" Cyborg snarled back at her as Rage raised her arms, conjuring spheres of dark energy around her fists.

Beast Boy gently grabbed her wrists and brought them back down to her sides. Rage realized that she slipped up and submitted to him.

"Rae, are you OK?"

Rage turned and wrapped her arms around the changeling, drawing him into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry Gar; it's just that ever since she returned … I haven't been myself."

"But Rae, you agreed to let her return. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Rage knew that it was the time for some theatrics.

"I'm sorry Gar, she makes me feel so emotionally insecure … I know she was your first love … and when I saw her hug you … I thought that maybe … you might like her more than me."

The changeling gave Rage a tender smile. Even though the rogue emotion was demonic in its nature, she felt a twinge in her heart and understood why her master was so attached to the changeling. She then shook away the human like emotion. She was a demon after all, the daughter of Trigon, and like her father she had no use for such human weakness.

And a demon she was. Raven was right; she couldn't exorcise Rage out of her soul no more than she could extirpate her heart or lungs from her body and survive. Raven was a half demon, and if Rage were to be removed from her she would be only a half person … and she would die.

Of course Raven was now exiled into Terra's body along with Terra's Rage, which was a kitten compared to the Trigonesque monster that now imprisoned Terra in Raven's body.

There was something that Rage had not counted on: she was not a true soul and because of that it was difficult to 'run' Raven's body without Terra's help. Her own face betrayed the fatigue she was feeling.

"Don't say that Rae, you're my fiancée. We even agreed to a wedding day."

"You did?" Raptor asked in surprise.

"Yes, right after Starfire and Robin return from their honeymoon … but Gar is right, I'm not feeling well … I need to rest."

Raptor gave Rage a skeptical look.

"Maybe you should go relax, sister."

Rage nodded and swept her cape around herself, phasing into the floor without saying goodbye.

Raptor turned to Cyborg.

"Gar and I will keep an eye on Terra."

Cyborg nodded.

"Thanks, I got some stuff to do … call me if she wakes up." He replied as he left the infirmary.

As soon as the door slid shut Beast Boy turned to face his old lover. He knew her very well, almost as well as he knew Raven, and he could tell that she was disturbed.

"Raptor … what is it?"

She turned to look at Terra's sleeping form.

"I'm not sure … something just seems wrong … very wrong. I just don't know what it might be; I can't put my finger on it."

She then noticed a troubled expression on Beast Boy's face.

"Me too … something's … I don't know … different with Rae."

"What do you mean?"

The changeling sat down on a chair and rubbed his temples.

"You saw what happened last night. Raven had one of her "bad days". When that happens we don't bunk together … I'm used to that … and I'm OK with it. That's how Raven is … but …."

"She came back to you last night."

"Yes, and she NEVER does that. If anything, it usually takes two or three days before we sleep together again."

"So, what changed?"

"I don't know, but it gets weirder still … we had … physical intimacy last night … and … it was incredible."

Raptor became wide eyed as she continued to listen.

"We've only done the deed a few times, so she completely caught me off guard last night … and like I said ... it was incredible … better than anything you and I ever shared … and you're good. I mean … she was completely uninhibited. And while we were doing it, she said that she didn't want to wait any longer to get married."

Raptor was staring into the distance, nodding her head.

"I see what you mean … that is so unlike her … let me guess … you've been showing her the ropes and now she suddenly turned the tables on you?"

"Yeah, it was like the Kama Sutra on steroids. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, but it was also weird … you know … like it wasn't her … it was more like she was you, but even more."

"You're right Gar. And I've sensed some oddness from Raven too. A lot of anger is simmering in her, I can feel it … and then Terra going off the deep end … you are right, something is wrong."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Terra wept bitterly, oblivious to the conditions around her. Her cell smelled like a latrine and she was covered in filth. She understood that her surroundings were not real, that there were merely constructs in Raven's brain. Rage had left her abandoned alone for hours and Terra could not free herself from the bonds that imprisoned her.

She had good reason to cry. The night before she had been a passive spectator. It didn't matter that it wasn't her own body for she felt everything. She felt his lips press against her own, she felt her bare chest pressed against his body … she even felt the orgasms that Raven's body, under Rage's control, experienced … it was the most horrifying experience she ever had, and she would unlikely ever forget it.

"Stop crying!"

Terra looked up and saw Rage standing before her and immediately noticed that Rage looked … weak?

"What's the matter, Miss Uncongeniality?"

Rage glared at her.

"I need you to cooperate, Terra."

Terra sneered at her captor.

"You need my 'cooperation'? After you let BB rape me without knowing I was there? Are you frakking nuts?"

Rage stumbled and caught herself before falling.

"I … I can't do this … I thought that if I kept you locked in here that I could possess Raven's body … but I can't … it's too hard … I need you."

"Then free me!"

Rage waved her hand. The cell vanished and they stood in bright meadow.

"Where are we?"

Rage, stumbled again, this time falling to the ground.

"It's a place called Nevermore, we are literally inside of your mind … Terra … you need to take control … if you don't … Raven will return to her body, and we can't allow that."

"Why not? This has been a disaster and I regret it."

Rage turned to Terra and gave her a 4 eyed glare.

"Do you always give up so easily?"

"What!"

"You heard me Terra. You ran away from the Titans just because you were embarrassed about not being able to control your powers. Then you sold out to Slade and betrayed the only friends you even had. Even your heroics in the cave, you really just gave up on Beast Boy and committed suicide …"

"I did not!"

Rage ignored her rebuttal and continued.

"And then when he found you at the school, you gave up on him, because you thought it would be too hard to start over. You ran away from him."

"That's not true!"

"Then why are you willing to give up? You know that you can't just go back. Raven knows what happened. You'll be thrown out, they'll banish you forever. Is that what you want? I thought he was yours?"

Terra fought back the tears.

"I hate you! You lied to me!"

"I did no such thing. After agreeing to our deal you tried to back out. Did you really expect me to let you off the hook, Terra?"

"What do you want from me, Rage?"

"I want us to claim what is ours."

"I don't trust you."

"You don't have to trust me. I am utterly dependent on you, you need to take over Terra, otherwise all is lost."

"I don't want to."

"Just try it Terra, feel the power. You have no idea of just how powerful Raven is, she doesn't know it herself."

Power. This was something Terra was familiar with, and she knew that it was something she desired and savored. Slade taught her to use her powers, to control them. And they were formidable; it took the combined abilities of the Titans to defeat her. But the best memory of all was recovering the control of her powers from Slade and defeating him. There was something appealing about unbridled power.

"And what about you?"

"I will be your humble servant."

"You'll double cross me."

"I can't, if I do Raven will return. I can't control her body. A real soul is needed. Only you can do it."

Terra closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts. Once again she was about to betray her friends. She knew that the charade would go undetected for only so long. That meant that she would have to use Raven's power to conquer the world, if not the whole universe. Beast Boy would not be her spouse; he would be her slave, her plaything, her toy.

This isn't what she wanted.

But there was the power. Terra understood what Rage was saying. With that power, a power that Raven herself feared and kept sealed away, Terra would be a goddess. And if she was truly a goddess … she could make Beast Boy love her.

Terra assented and felt the surge of power flow through her. It was mesmerizing and intoxicating. She finally understood why Raven spent countless hours meditating, struggling to control her powers. But Terra did no such thing. She felt her consciousness fill Raven's body and the power lust permeate her own mind, with an unwavering desire for the green changeling. Terra literally felt Raven's body tingle with the power it contained. Suddenly, it dawned on her. She was now omnipotent and could have anything she desired.

And desire she did.

She closed her eyes and reopened them. She was in Raven's room and turned to the mirror and saw her reflection, Raven's face with a lustful smile pasted on it.

"I want him. I want him now."

_**He is yours mistress.**_

Terra used Raven's empathic powers and reached out to find him.

"He's with her!"

_**We must get rid of her mistress. If anyone can stop us, it's Raptor.**_

"She wants him for herself, the bitch. She thinks that he belongs to her. He was MINE long before he met her."

_**You are correct Mistress, what shall we do next?**_

Terra grinned as she stared into the mirror. Raven's eyes briefly split into 2 crimson red pairs before reverting to their normal indigo color.

"We go and take what belongs to us."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"You're right Gar. And I've sensed some oddness from Raven too. A lot of anger is simmering in her, I can feel it … and then Terra going off the deep end … you are right, something is wrong."

As Raptor finished speaking the blond girl opened her eyes.

"It's about time the two of you figured it out."

"Terra?" Beast Boy asked.

Raptor only gave the girl who looked like Terra a strange look.

Raven saw that she was restrained in the bed and sighed.

"Why won't you believe me? What could I possibly gain by lying about being Raven?"

"Uh Terra, you do kinda have a track record of doing things that don't make sense."

The blond stared at her fiancé in the eyes.

"Gar, I can prove that it's me."

"How?"

The blond frowned.

"Have you ever told anyone where we first made love?"

"No, I haven't. I would never do that."

"Then only you and I would know."

Raptor crossed her arms and grinned.

"This I gotta hear!"

"Shut up sister, can't you ever be serious?"

Raptor glared at the blond.

"I was, once, when my Gar died."

"Then you understand how much is at stake!"

The blond turned to the changeling.

"I took us to a small island near Costa Rica. It was night time and I already had a place setup for us on the deserted beach. I had almost one hundred candles lit. We had a simple meal of bread, cheese and wine. Then I asked you to undress me, which you did. Then I undressed you, and caressed your …"

Beast Boy placed his fingers over her lips, silencing her.

"Aw, just when she was getting to the good part." Raptor complained with a smirk.

"Raven." Beast Boy said in disbelief. "How?"

"I don't know, just that Rage was somehow behind it. And would you mind untying me? Cyborg already pumped me full of inhibitol, so I can't use Terra's powers."

Beast Boy quickly released her.

"Rae, I don't know what to say …"

"Terra and Rage are in control of my body. As to what their motives are, I can only surmise that they involve you somehow."

A mixed look of shock and disgust spread over the changeling's face.

"What's the matter Gar?"

He swallowed hard.

"Rae, last night …"

"She seduced you … that bitch … she's gonna pay for that."

Raptor said nothing, now understanding what happened the night before.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

Raven stood up.

"First I get my body back."

"And after that, sister?"

"After that, Raptor, I'm going to teach Terra a lesson she'll never forget!"

The sound of laughter echoed in the room. To everyone's surprise Raven's body, clad in her white leotard and cape, emerged from the shadows.

"You and what army, Raven?" Raven heard her own voice, now minus her signature monotone and speaking in Terra's own lilt. "I fooled you again, witch."

Beast Boy leaped to his feet.

"Terra, have you lost your mind? Why are you doing this?"

The changeling stared in horror as his fiancée's face grinned a very Terra like smile.

"I've come for you BB. We're gonna pick up where we left off. I'm your girl, not Raven."

"Terra! You can't be serious!" He shrieked at her.

"I'm very serious BB, but I have some unfinished business with Raven!"

Terra raised her hand and a blast of Raven's white energy came out of it, aimed straight at Terra's original body. The blast was stopped by a dark hemisphere that appeared just in time. Raptor howled in pain but did retaliate, hitting Terra's stolen gray body. Terra fell but quickly got back on her feet. She understood that she wasn't ready to take Raptor on in a direct battle, so she grabbed Beast Boy's wrist and swirling her cape around them she and the changeling phased into the ground and vanished.

_**-( scene break )-**_

And here is the promised update. That said, you'll have to wait until next weekend for the next update.

And now the mailbag,

**Sawsaw** - "Oh this is Math! I really enjoy the little

Body swap and as a long time reader

Shy reviewer your M's are better then your T's

Mailbag me my lord!"

_Actually, "Beast Boy's Gambit" is my only official "M" story._

**The Cretin** - ", I'm sorry about the double review but I forgot to mention that I think you should bump this up to a "M" rating. Things look like they're getting dark and turbulent. Once again, sorry about that. My bad. Keep rockin"

_That's two votes now!_

**LordGodsServant** - "'sigh' Deals with the Devil never work out good. Terra probably realized that when she got locked up. I wonder if Rage will just decide to leave her in that cell and take over running Raven's body by herself. Probably she doesn't trust Terra enough not to blow their cover.

I wonder how Raven will adjust. This is long term guessing but I wonder if she'll remain in Terra's body in the end and Terra in Raven's body dies or whatever happens. Raven would then be rid of her problems with emotions. Like I said these are just some wild speculations about the future of your story.

I don't think you should make it "M" (as that implies you would raise the ante even further). I'll tolerate what you've put in, but going one step further with all the Sex . . . I'd have a hard time with that.

Just my two cents.

Anyway, nice chapter.

Good Day and God Bless :)

Sincerely, LordGodsServant"

_And one vote against the M rating. One thing I'll never do is write a lemon. I think lemons are boring._

**The Cretin** - "HOLY SH*T!...YOU JUST HIT ME WITH AN UPPERCUT THAT WOULD LAY BALBOA OUT! This chap is probably the best one yet. I did not see that coming. As I said, you never cease to amaze me when you write a twist. You've hit new highs with this plot development. I thought the dialogue was also well written. Yeah. Teen Titans has been around for awhile now. People grow older. Lose interest. Something new comes along. You know how it goes. I read today that Cyborg is the only one in the comics that has his own continuity since the reboot/relaunch. Always remember, I'll be there to read your stuff. You are in my top ten on this website and you're definitely my favorite sci-fi writer here. Can't wait to read the next chap. As always, keep rockin."

_I also think that it comes from the show being "dead" for about 5 years now. Hopefully they'll bring it back, to give Young Justice some competition and show them how it's done!_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Now that's just royally majorly f***ked up, If Raven gets back to her body and goes back to Nevermore, I think Rage will gonna get a well deserved beating once Raven realised that Terra swap bodies with Raven and being a pawn of Rage. I sense a really fucked up face for Rage when Raven's pounds her face."

_Just what will Raven do to Rage?_

**titanfan45** - "Man! That was a roller coaster ride! I hope that Raven can somehow make things right again. Raptor would seem to be the only chance for the real Raven to get help from someone who believed her. With the real Terra locked away in Rage's dungeon, I'd have to say the Raven's rage pulled off the perfect crime at least for a short while. I can't imagine that Beast Boy would go along with Rage's plan to rule the world. Force, you've outdone yourself with this one."

_Thanks! I was worried that maybe it was too intense._

**Thowell3** - "I know you have a plan but I have to say, Not a fan of this chapter."

_I understand._

**WarriorsFan26** - "...you are mean..."

_Mean is my specialty. Bwhahahaha!_

**Densharr** - " Damn, you write chapters fast. I haven't even had the chance to review the last one!

Damn, but Rage is sneaky. Be careful of what you wish for indeed.

I wonder how this is going to affect Terra's psyche - she's kinda raping/getting raped (mentally, of course). Actually, maybe body-controlled is more accurate. It's going to hit her, that's for sure.

And I would totally be in favor of an 8 years AE jumping from chapter 20 (absense of the 'original' Titans. There's a lot more fans (AKA people who haven't read the comics) than there are people who read the comics.

Can't wait for the weekend!"

_I still haven't made up my mind regarding "8 Years later", maybe I'll finish the original story and then go back and write a different ending._


	26. Beast Boy Trapped

The black hemisphere rose out of the ground, making its signature hum in the process. It slowly vanished, sublimating as if made of dry ice, revealing Beast Boy and the possessed sorceress's figure. The changeling spun around, taking in his surroundings. The room they appeared in had utilitarian feel to it. The walls were gray and it contained a military grade pair of bunk beds.

"Terra, you have to stop this … it's just wrong!"

The usurper gave no indication of having heard the changeling, as she was busy admiring herself in a full length mirror. She then removed her cape and turned around, inspecting Raven's backside.

"For a witch Raven isn't all that bad looking. She has a well shaped body, I'll give her that. Nice butt too, I wish mine looked that good. I guess I can understand what you see in her BB."

"Terra!"

The gray geomancer finally acknowledged him.

"What's the matter BB?"

He gave her an incredulous look.

"What's the matter? WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT'S THE MATTER?"

Terra smiled at him. Seeing her facial expressions on Raven's face sent chills down his spine.

"You stole Raven's body and kidnapped me! What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were turning over a new leaf!"

Terra chuckled.

"What does it look like I'm doing? This is gonna be a fresh start for both of us BB."

"Are you nuts?"

A seductive smile appeared on Raven's possessed face.

"No, lover, I'm not. Did you know that Raven has powers she never uses? That she has powers that eclipse those of any other superhero? Well, she does. She has powers that she's sealed away because she's 'afraid' of them. Powers that would make her stronger than the entire Justice League."

"Terra, no." He replied in a whisper.

"I'm going to free those powers, Beast Boy, and when I do I'll become a goddess."

"You can't do that, it's wrong."

Terra approached the changeling and caressed his cheek.

"I want to share that power with you."

She pressed her lips against his and forced her tongue into his mouth. He immediately turned away from her.

"Don't you want to be a god, BB? We'll both be immortal and all powerful."

He turned back to face her.

"Raven's told me about these powers, Terra. She's sealed them up for a reason. She said that if they were ever released that she wouldn't be able to control them and she'd become a pure demon like her father … I've seen her father Terra … you have to believe me, you don't want to be like him."

"I'll control them … I know I can do it."

"You won't be able to, Terra. Remember how you had trouble controlling your own powers?"

Terra snarled at him, giving him a four eyed glare.

"Don't remind me of that, ever!"

The changeling swallowed hard, summoning every ounce of courage he possessed.

"But it's true. And it'll be worse Terra, much worse. Rage promised to make you a goddess Terra, but you'll only become a monster. And if that happens, I'll have nothing to do with you."

Terra slapped him across the face with super human strength, sending him flying into the cinderblock wall behind him. A sickening thud echoed through the room and the changeling slumped as he fell to the ground. Terra returned to Raven's fully humanoid form and she rushed to his side with terror stricken look on her face.

"BB! Are you OK?" She shrieked.

Beast Boy winced in pain as he grabbed the back of his neck with his hand. Terra felt a shiver travel down her spine. She almost snapped his neck.

"Don't move, I can fix it!" She instructed him as she summoned Raven's blue healing light.

After about a minute he waived her off and sat up.

"See what I mean Terra? You can't even control Raven regular powers, they control you. If you unseal her forbidden powers they'll consume you. You'll be lost … and I don't want that to happen to you."

"BB, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

He shook his head.

"Terra, please, please take us home and give Raven her body back."

She crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"I can't do that, BB."

"What? But why not? Terra, this won't end well. You'll probably end up killing me."

She turned back towards him, clenching her fists, her face screwed with anger.

"Because you're mine BB, you were mine first! And I won't hurt you again, I promise."

Once again, he shook his head.

"That was a long time ago, and it was only puppy love."

"No it wasn't! It was real! I loved you! Dammit, I loved you! I protected you from Slade, and then … you double crossed me! You broke your promise to always be my friend, no matter what I did!"

"Terra, I'm sorry for what I said that day, but you betrayed us first. And even though you betrayed us I still was your friend, your only friend. And I still am your friend, even now. And that's why I'm telling you that it's not too late; we can still go back and straighten things out."

Now it was Terra's turn to shake her head.

"No, if we go back, I'll lose you forever."

"Terra … I don't know how else to say this … but … when you told me that 'things change', that was when you lost me … forever."

Terra grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Give me another chance! I swear that I'll never break your heart again, I promise."

She gasped when she saw a tear slide down his face. He looked up at her with the most sorrowful look she had ever seen.

"Terra, you already are breaking my heart."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Raptor stood in stunned disbelief; neither could accept what had just happened.

"Raptor, can you sense where they are?"

The demoness raised her fingers to her temples and concentrated. After a long pregnant pause she dropped her hands and shook her head.

"She covered her tracks. I have no idea where they are."

Raven crossed her arms.

"This is just great. Not only do I not have my powers, I have no idea how to wield Terra's geomorphing abilities, I'm less than useless in my current state ... how can I possibly save Gar from her?"

The sliding door opened and Cyborg ran into the infirmary.

"What's with all the racket? … hey … where did BB and Raven go? They did have a fight?"

Raven sighed.

"Just review the security camera footage, Cyborg. You won't believe us otherwise."

Cyborg looked at Raptor who merely nodded. He pressed a button on his forearm and a holographic image of the infirmary appeared, floating above him. He watched the whole scene as it was replayed. When it was done he shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm calling Robin and Star … this time Terra's gone too far." He grumbled.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"No! NO! We're going to be happy together. We're going to be gods and we're going to rule the universe, BB!"

"No, Terra. Why do you want to do that?"

She wrapped her arms around him and drew him into a hug.

"BB, we're super heroes, we fight crime and evil. If we become omnipotent we can banish all crime and all suffering. We can have Heaven on Earth."

He cupped her cheek in his palm.

"It won't work, we'll end up becoming monsters and everyone will live in fear of us. Absolute power corrupts, Terra. No matter how well we mean, we'll end up becoming what we hate."

"There has to be a way to make it work."

"You have to let this go."

Terra dropped to her knees.

"Please BB, I'm begging you. Please be mine. I'll give you more than you could ever dream of, I'll be everything for you, more than you could ever ask for …"

"Terra … all I want … is Raven. And I'm leaving right now, with or without you."

Terra turned away from him, hiding her tear swollen eyes from him.

"I'm sorry BB, this is only for now."

Terra turned around a black lightning bolt shot out of her chakra stone, wrapping itself around the changeling, who shrieked in surprise. The stone then drew the dark energy, along with the changeling back into itself.

"I promise I'll let you out, BB, I will."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Beast Boy hit the ground with a loud thud. Every bone in his body ached as he lifted himself with a heaving groan and sat up. He opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

"Oh crud"

The familiar landscape of Nevermore surrounded him, with its dark red starred sky and floating landmasses. The changeling rose to his feet, debating whether or not he should call out to Terra. He quickly gave up on the idea, realizing that Terra had deliberately chosen to imprison him in her mind and that she wasn't interested in negotiating his release. He sighed and scratched his head, wondering what to do.

"The exit gate, the forbidden door! I'll just get out that way." He said to himself.

"You won't be able to get out that way." A small voice called out from the darkness.

Beast Boy turned in the voice's direction and saw a gray cape and hooded figure facing away from him.

"What?"

"It's guarded; you won't be able to get out that way."

Beast Boy ran up to the gray clad girl.

"Timid, is it you?"

Beast Boy placed a hand on the emotion's shoulder and spun her around.

To his immense surprise Timid had Terra's face.

"What's going on here?"

Another figure, this one clad in yellow, emerged from the shadows. She wore eyeglasses and also had Terra's face.

"Terra's and Raven's minds are beginning to merge. I suspect that the same thing is happening back in Terra's brain as well."

"What does that mean?" He asked, unable to hide the trepidation in his voice.

"It means that eventually Terra and Raven will merge into two new people and once that happens they won't be able to separate. As to when the point of no return will be reached, it is hard to predict but time is not on our side."

"Wait a minute, are you saying that you guys want things to return to normal? Terra doesn't!"

Terra's wisdom resumed speaking.

"Terra is unaware of the danger at hand. The outcome of the merge is unpredictable, but the probability of disaster is great. There is a nontrivial chance that the merger will result in a damaged mind. Terra could go off the deep end and go berserk and if she unseals Ravens powers … it could be the end of the universe as we know it."

"So what do we do?" He asked.

A pink caped girl emerged from the growing crowd of emotions and wrapped her arms around him.

"We love you BB, we both love you … but you have to stop this … only you can do it."

"But how?" He asked the emotion he recognized as Love.

A green caped Terra stepped forward.

"You have to defeat Rage. Once she's subdued you'll be able to reason with Terra."

"Defeat Rage? Have you ever seen her? I have! She totally kicks butt! There's no way I can beat her."

"We'll help you."

He gave the green girl a skeptical look.

"How? I can't use your powers the way Raven did the last time I was here."

"No, you can't." Wisdom replied. "But we have another way to help you."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The still newlywed Graysons entered the common room, where an unusual sight greeted them. Cyborg was standing in front of the couch. On his left stood Raptor, wearing her blue cape and hood. On his right was Terra, who was also wearing a leotard and cape, both white. She had a very Raven like expression on her face, a delicate mixture of displeasure and impatience which was accentuated by her crossed arms.

Robin already knew what had happened, but still found it difficult to accept that it really was Raven who was living in Terra's body at the moment.

"It's about time you got back." Terra's voice complained in a very Raven like way.

Robin and Starfire ignored the complaint and sat down at the dining room table, where they were joined by the others.

"I don't know where to begin." Robin announced. "How do we fight her if she's holding your body hostage? If we hurt her, we hurt you, Raven."

"I am aware of our dilemma." She replied in a monotone, which sounded extra eerie in Terra's voice. "We need to capture her without injuring her. As to how we will accomplish that … I don't know … yet. Another problem is that she is holding Gar hostage, probably in her mind since she could keep him trapped indefinitely in there."

"You mean B's in Nevermore?"

"That is my fear. And it will be a Nevermore that is completely out of control and dangerous, where Rage roams freely at will … I fear that Gar is in great danger. If Rage kills him in Nevermore he will die, it won't be symbolic."

"But she needs him alive to control Terra." Starfire remarked.

"That is correct." Raptor replied. "I might be able to sneak into Nevermore using Raven's meditation mirror …"

"And end up trapped in there as well. I need you out here Raptor. Terra will no doubt avail herself to my powers, which Rage has and will continue to teach her to use and only you will be able to counter them. But we need to move quickly … there is no doubt that Rage is tempting Terra to unseal my darkest and most evil powers … if that happens …"

Raven paused and bit her lower lip.

"If that happens … you have to promise me this … there will be only one way to stop her … you will have to kill me."

"What!" Robin, Starfire and Cyborg shrieked in one voice.

Raven sighed before continuing.

"Even though I am no longer in my body, those powers need me to enable them. If I am dead … then Terra can't use them. And if you kill Terra's body, she will also die. She probably doesn't know this; Rage would never tell her the truth."

Starfire shook her head.

"Raven, there has to be another way."

"The only other way is to stop them before the powers are unsealed. Unfortunately, we have no idea of where she is hiding …"

Before Raven could finish speaking, the Tower's klaxons began to blare. Robin rushed to the mission console. After quickly examining it he turned to his teammates.

"We do now … she's attacking the Tower!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Another cliffhanger, ain't I a stinker?


	27. Raptor's Sacrifice

"No, you can't." Wisdom replied. "But we have another way to help you."

Wisdom crossed her arms and a somber expression covered her face.

"You understand that Raven's powers are tied to her emotions?"

"Yeah, we all know that."

Another eyeglass wearing Terra, this one carrying a book, approached. Beast Boy recognized her as knowledge.

"We have most of Terra's emotions on board for this. They will refuse to cooperate and Terra won't be able to access her powers through them."

"Wait, you said 'most', so who isn't going to help us?"

The green caped Brave stepped forward.

"Rage for one. But also Fear. Fear is Terra's strongest emotion; it's what pushed her to run away from the Titans in the first place. Terra lives in the grip of fear; it's the primary cause of all her irrational actions. Fortunately we can take advantage of that to manipulate her."

The changeling raised an eyebrow.

"Are you guys sure that you're Terra's emotions, you see to be acting more like …"

"Like Raven." Knowledge completed the sentence for him. "As wisdom already told you, Terra's mind is beginning to merge with Raven's own psyche, at least the echo of it that is imprinted in her brain."

"Our plan is quite simple and it's already been started." Wisdom interjected. "Since fear is so strong in Terra it hasn't begun to merge with Raven's mind, and that is something we can take advantage of."

"What do you mean?"

"We have primed Fear to believe that the Titans know where we are and that an attack is imminent."

"And where are we?"

"We were in one of Slade's abandoned lairs."

"We were?"

"Yes, as in past tense. Fear has gripped Terra. Her first instinct was to flee, but as we expected Rage has stepped in and Terra is beginning to attack the Tower as we speak."

"The ride is gonna get bumpy. Rage will no doubt pull out all the stops. Fortunately Raven's extra powers remain sealed, so the Titans stand a chance. We expect this to boil down to a showdown between Terra and Raptor. Raptor will be handicapped in that she can't go all out on Terra as she doesn't wish to permanently damage Raven's body." Brave remarked.

The changeling rubbed his temples and groaned.

"Then Raptor's gonna lose. Even if she didn't hold back, Raven is still stronger than her. And now you tell me that Rage is in the driver's seat? She's gonna kill Raptor!"

Wisdom nodded her understanding.

"We understand your concern Garfield, but this is where you come in. Rage will be under duress during the fight. She alone with Fear, who will be useless in the battle, will have to wield Raven's powers. It will be a drain on her and that will be your window of opportunity to restrain her."

Beast Boy closed his eyes and sighed. What he was about to do terrified him but he also knew that it would be the only way to get Raven back into her own body … and he had to do it, not just for her but for the entire universe. He opened his eyes and looked into Wisdom's blue eyes.

"I'm ready."

"We'll take you to her. But remember, we can't help you fight her directly, you'll be on your own." Brave replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Tower shook as it absorbed another dark energy blast. Acoustic tiles fell from the ceiling and the sound of glass breaking echoed throughout the common room. A familiar gray female figure, clad in a white cape and leotard zoomed past the common room windows. The reinforced glass initially absorbed the dark spears that Rage shot at them but began to crack under the duress. Rage did a barrel roll and turning she charged at the Tower. She placed her hands together in front of her, as if in prayer, and aimed them at the common room, extending her arms while keeping her palms together. A sphere formed around her hands and shot out towards the common room. The windows were shattered upon the impact, sending shards of glass flaying. Raptor raised a black hemisphere to shield herself and her teammates from the sharp and deadly debris, which pelted the dark shield with a random staccato pattern.

Rage banked away from the Tower and Raptor dropped her shields. She and Starfire flew out the window, pursuing Raven's possessed body. Starfire shot a volley of star bolts, which Rage deftly dodged as she launched her own counter attack. One of her dark bolts hit the princess square in the chest, sending her tumbling into the cold bay below.

"Starfire!" Robin shouted in panic from the common room.

The Tamaranian recovered before crashing into the blue water and resumed her pursuit, once again firing more star bolts. Seeing that she was OK Robin refocused his attention on Rage, who was now engaging Raptor, exchanging dark energy blasts with Raven's interdimensional twin. Robin frowned as he could tell that Rage was a better fighter than Raptor and was having no issues with keeping the two female Titans at bay. He reached for his utility belt and withdrew three of his discs. Cyborg joined him at the window and began firing his sonic cannon at Rage, who was now sporting her 4 crimson red eyes. One of the sonic blasts grazed her left thigh and she howled in pain. Robin saw blood dripping from her leg and prepared himself, holding three disks between his fingers. As he hoped Raptor turned her direction back to the Tower as Cyborg continued to fire at her. Her fists clenched she dodge his sonic blasts as she swooped towards the tower, leaving Raptor and Starfire behind. As she approached Robin took advantage of the opportunity and threw his disks.

"Pleasant dreams!"

The three disks flew from Robin's hands and with surgical precision they found their target. As they exploded Rage was encased in ice and began to fall. Starfire swooped in and caught her, saving the frozen demoness from a deadly crash on the rocks below.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"We'll take you to her. But remember, we can't help you fight her directly, you'll be on your own." Brave replied.

The rocky landscape suddenly vanished and Beast Boy found himself in what looked like Raven's room in the Tower. At first he thought that he had miraculously escaped from Nevermore but that hope was quickly dashed when he saw the blood red stars outside through the window. He stood in a confused daze, not knowing what to do next. Shaking the mental cobwebs away he began to scan the room, looking for a clue as to what to do next.

He found it, or to be more accurate he found her, crumpled up on the bed. He ran to the large 4 poster bed he shared with his fiancé in the real world and gasped at the sight that greeted him. It was Rage, the crimson red cape and hood gave her away immediately. She had a nasty wound on her right thigh which was bleeding and she was shivering while unconscious. He approached her carefully and examined her. He knew that her injuries in Nevermore were reflections of her injuries in the real world and that for the moment she wasn't a threat. He knew that his opportunity had come and if the he didn't jump on it he might not get another one.

"Terra! Terra! Can you hear me!"

Terra, dressed in Raven's white cape and leotard materialized before him.

"I'm here BB."

He grabbed the blond by her shoulders.

"You have to stop this now! Raven's body is hurt!"

Terra nodded her agreement.

"I don't know if I can, she's so strong. I know she needs me, but somehow … I can't resist her. I could only come to see you because we got knocked out. Robin froze us with his disks."

Beast Boy shook the girl as if trying to awaken her from a trance.

"Terra, this is Slade all over again. You were able to resist him and you can resist her!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven stood powerless in the common room while Starfire brought her now frozen body back into the Tower. Cyborg produced a huge hypospray from his forearm.

"This inhibtol and sedative cocktail should do the trick. We just need to expose her skin from the ice so I can give it to her and …"

Before Cyborg could finish the ice encasing Rage began to crack and dark energy began to swell under its surface. Then, with a loud bang the ice exploded and Rage emitted a terrifying roar. A blast of dark energy sent Cyborg flying into a wall. Rage turned to the blond girl in the white cape and leotard.

"He's mine, Raven! You can't have him!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Rage jumped out of the bed, growling like an angry dog. She locked her four eyes with Beast Boy, who felt a shiver go down his spine. Time seemed to come to a standstill and he debated what to do next. While he was terrified he also knew that he wouldn't get another chance. Summoning all his courage he morphed into the Beast and charged at Rage.

The demonic emotion was not caught off guard and also began to morph into an indescribable monster. The two leviathans crashed into each other while Terra watched their struggle in abject horror.

She had never seen the Beast before and while he was a formidable opponent Rage's new form, which resembled a giant serpent with razor sharp teeth and dark tendrils growing all over her body was even more frightful.

The struggle was intense, as the two opponents exchanged blows. The tendrils had their effect on the changeling, inflicting scores of small wounds on him. The expression 'death by a thousand cuts' came to Terra's mind.

"Rage, stop, don't hurt him!"

The Beast was not ready to give up and connected several powerful blows to the serpent's head while avoiding is razor sharp teeth. The battle continued for what to Terra felt like an eternity. To her horror she could see that Rage was slowly wearing down the Beast, who was showing signs of fatigue.

And then it happened. Rage was finally able to connect her teeth with the changeling's flesh. Terra gasped as she saw the venom drip from Rage's teeth into the fresh wound. The Beast roared in pain and the poison quickly took its effect as the green giant collapsed onto the floor in the bedroom with a dull thud. Terra watched, paralyzed with fear, as he morphed back into his human form, convulsing violently as the poison quickly spread through his body.

"BB!" Terra finally wailed.

She turned to Rage, who was back in her human form. Terra saw that Rage was shedding tears of blood from her crimson eyes. Rage ran to Beast Boy's side and picked him up, cradling him in her arms.

"What have I done!" She wailed uncontrollably.

Beast Boy opened his eyes and with great effort he spoke.

"Raven, why did you … kill me? I thought you loved me."

He then slumped into Rage's arms.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Starfire, Cyborg and Robin aimed their powers and weapons at Rage.

"You can't win Terra, give it up." Robin challenged her.

Then to everyone's surprise, Terra dropped her hands and surrendered. She turned immediately towards Raven.

"Rage hurt BB! She hurt him bad, he's dying!"

Raven approached her own body, placing Terra's lily white index finger on the Chakra stone.

"We're gonna do a swap Terra, but I need your cooperation. Think of the Chakra stone as a door and open it with your mind."

Terra nodded and closed her eyes.

"Raptor, I need your help, I can't push my way in."

"I'm on it." She replied as she stood behind Terra's body, placing her hands on blonde's temples.

The three women's bodies jerked and their eyes rolled back as they entered into a collective trance.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Raptor materialized inside Raven's room in Nevermore. Rage was cradling the changeling's limp form while tears of blood still flowed from her eyes. She saw Raven and Raptor approach.

"Mistress! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt our beloved … I lost control."

"Now you know why I keep you locked up! This is unforgivable!"

Raven then extended her palm to Terra.

"Return my body to me Terra; it's the only way to save him."

Terra nodded and touched Raven's palm with her own. Both women jerked upon touching each other, after which Terra vanished, returning to her own body. Without skipping a beat Raven turned to Beast Boy's supine form and placed her hands on head.

"No, oh Azar, please no!"

"Raven, what is it? What's wrong?"

Raven's face was screwed with pain and she began to sob.

"We're too late … he's already dead."

Raptor's jaw dropped.

"No, no! It can't be! There has to be something we can do!"

Raven fought back her tears.

"There is. I will exchange my life force for his."

"But Raven, you'll die if you do that."

"I'm already dead Raptor, without him … it's over … this is my fault, my Rage did this … it's only right that I should give him my life …"

"But Raven …"

"He'll be yours Raptor, promise me you'll love him and make him happy for me."

Raptor shook her head.

"No! He never be happy knowing you committed suicide to save him."

Raven gave her a pleading look.

"Time's running out Raptor, his soul hasn't left yet, but once it does we can't bring him back. Will you please help me?"

Raptor wiped away her tears.

"I will, so how do we do this?"

"It's actually pretty easy. I'll reach into him and find the void his life force left behind and push my own into him. Once that happens you need to get him and yourself out of Nevermore as it will collapse and cease to exist once I'm dead."

"That's it? So it's just like a soul swapping spell, except that you swap your life force instead of the soul?"

"That's correct."

Raptor raised her hand and blasted Raven with a burst of dark energy, Raven crashed into a wall and fell to the ground, stunned. Raptor placed her hands on Beast Boy's head.

"Gar, my beloved, I'm coming, please wait for me."

"Raptor! Stop, that's for me to do!" Raven groaned as struggled t her feet

"Raven, love him and make him happy for me … Azarath, Metrion, Zinthoooosss."

Raptor slumped over as she finished her mantra. In the real world, where Terra had already woken up, Raptor collapsed onto the floor. Cyborg checked her and found that she had no pulse.

Back in Nevermore Beast Boy drew a breath and began to cough as life flowed back into him. Raven drew him into a hug while she grabbed Raptor's now lifeless hand and she began to wail.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Another short update, but it was quick!

Things are drawing to a close, but there are still some unresolved issues. Stay tuned, we have a few chapters left.

Before I get to the mail bag I want to poll you, dear readers, on what project I should work on next. Should I

Finish "8 Years Later"

Finish the alternate ending for "The Gift"

Or should I write a part 2 for "Birds of a Feather Flock Together?"

Let it not be said that you don't have a voice. Only you can silence yourself.

And now, mail bag time. Reviews are few, but very high quality. Thanks to all who take a moment to review.

**YAXON** - "Another interesting turn of events. The cliffhanger, a most effective tool to keep readers interested and hooked. ^_^ You update fast, too... So... Good job. :D"

_Thanks_

**The Cretin** - "Man I hope things turn out for the better for the Triple G couple...(that's my name for them...ya know...Grey+Green=Greatness...)anyway, this is some of the best mindbending warfare I've read. I wouldn't be surprised if Rae don't have some longterm side effects from this one. Awesome interaction between BB and Terra. Can't wait for the next chap. Keep rockin"

_LOL! Another name for the Chromatically Challenged Couple!_

**titanfan45** - "Yes you are! I have never read anything quite like this story since you've added the newest chapters, You've outdone yourself once again Force."

_It must be the high altitude that gives me the crazy plot twists._

**LordGodsServant** - "Like I said, deals with the Devil never work. Terra is being misguided severely.

One correction I have to make, you spelled "meditation mirror" as "medication mirror."

I wonder how this will turn out.

One question though, are we getting near the end because it seems like it. Not that this is a bad thing, I'm just wondering if it is near the end of the story.

Good Day and God Bless :)"

_That typo has been corrected. Terra seems to be one to make "deals with the Devil"_

**Wrath lover** - "NUUUUU! Such a good chapter had to end! And I was so excited to read it, I was bouncing all over my room! xD Amazing chapter! Can't wait for the next chapter!

Please post soon!"

_Thanks!_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Ah crapper if Raven dies, this sucks, especially Raptor would be taking over Raven's place and both of em will have to suffer the guilt."

_Now what will happen with Raptor? It sure seems like she is ready to join her Gar in the afterlife._

**WarriorsFan26** - "I was in a conversation and totally forgot i was talking to him because i was reading this. This is good. Keep it up. DON'T KILL RAVEN!"

_Raven is alive, if wounded. I hope it wasn't a significant other you were talking with!_


	28. Raven's Choice

The late afternoon sunlight bled through the blinds, illuminating the countless specks of dust in the air, which followed the nearly imperceptible air currents in the room, moving around as if dancing an aerial dance. Their gentle ballet was as soft as the silence that engulfed the room, and was only punctuated by faint hum of the ventilation system.

The tranquility of the room was sent into oblivion as the double door slid open followed by a veritable stampede that poured into the room. The room's motion sensors turned on the overhead lights and the infirmary was now as bright as it was noisy. Cyborg deposited Raptor onto a med station and rushed to the supply cabinet.

"Star! Get that leotard off of her! And get her hooked up to an ECG! And hurry, we don't have any time to spare!" He bellowed at her while he rifled through the medical supply cabinet.

The tin man quickly found what he was looking for and returned to Raptor's bedside. Her leotard lay shredded on the floor, ripped apart by the princess's might hands. Starfire quickly placed the electrodes on her now exposed chest and turned on the electrocardiograph, which displayed a flat line and beeped its alarm. Cyborg had a defibrillator in his left hand and set it aside with a grimace, knowing that it was of no use if there were no heart beats.

Instead he grabbed a large syringe and plunged its needle into a bottle of adrenaline, sucking it into the syringe's body.

"This'd better work." He mumbled to himself.

He turned to Raptor and plunged the needle into her chest, injecting the powerful hormone into her heart. He turned to the electrocardiograph and frowned.

"C'mon Raptor … don't give up … give me a heartbeat … even an ugly one … just live … dammit!"

The display on the ECG did not change and it continued to beep its flat line alarm.

"Shit!"

Raven and Robin came into the infirmary last. Dick carried Beast Boy's unconscious form, which was he also deposited at a med station. The changeling was also hooked up to an ECG, which displayed a steady sinus wave, much to the sorceress's relief.

"Raven, go help Cyborg and Starfire, I'll keep an eye on him."

She silently nodded her agreement and ran to Raptor's station, her mind racing, trying to discern a way to save her twin. The obvious solution would be to do what Raptor did with the changeling, to give Raptor her own life force, which would mean that Raven would perish. There had to be another way.

Cyborg already looked defeated as he tried every known technique to get a silent heart beating again, but nothing seemed to work. He turned towards his gray friend.

"What happened to her? Why is she dead and why can't I revive her?"

The gray sorceress explained to Cyborg about Beast Boy's death and what followed after. Just moments after Raptor collapsed Raven regained control of her body and Beast Boy materialized from a dark void as she spread her cape.

"So … it's hopeless … she's gone." He remarked in a grave voice.

Raven furrowed her brow.

"I could give her my life force." She replied.

"No dice. You'd be dead … there has to be another way."

Unable to hide her frustration, Raven slammed her fist on a table.

"I … I can't think of anything … and we're running out of time. In a few more minutes her brain will die from oxygen starvation."

"I have an idea."

Raven, Cyborg and Starfire turned around to see that it was Beast Boy, who had sat up in his bed.

"Can't you take a bit of life force from each of us, and give it to her?"

Raven bit her lower lip.

"I'm not sure how to do that …"

"But you might be able to?" Nightwing asked. "Because if you do, then let's go for it … there's no time left."

"Raven, what is your plan?" Starfire added.

The sorceress placed her hands on her twin's torso.

"Place you hands on my shoulders."

The four Titans complied.

"Ok, here's the plan … I will push my life force into her and I should draw some out of each of you to replace what I lose. If this works, we'll all feel very weak … we might even faint."

"Rae, what happens if it doesn't work?" The changeling asked as the four heroes placed their hands on Raven's shoulders.

She ignored his question and continued.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthoooosss."

Her eyes glowed black and Beast Boy began to feel light headed.

"Rae! What happens if it doesn't work?" He asked one more time.

She turned to look at her fiancé.

"I'll die."

As soon as she said those words she collapsed. Beast Boy tried to catch her but he felt sluggish and slow and also found himself succumbing to a sudden sense of exhaustion, unaware that Robin and Starfire were also blacking out. Only Cyborg, whose cybernetic half was unaffected, was able to remain conscious, but barely. As the watchdog circuits in the positronic portion of his brain kicked in and took over some of the functionality of his organic brain he heard what he thought was the most beautiful sound in the world: the electrocardiograph was now reporting that Raptor had a normal heart beat.

He then noticed that his four teammates were collapsed on the floor. He checked Raven first and found that while her blood pressure and heartbeat rate were abnormally low, they were both improving. A quick check on the other three showed similar numbers.

He first attended to Raptor, setting her up with an IV with a lactaid Ringers solution and he covered her with warm blankets. Once he was satisfied that she was safe he placed the other four titans in their med stations and also set them up with IV's and electro cardiographs. He then realized that by sharing their life force they came dangerously close to the abyss themselves, even though the burden had been shared.

He sat down and heaved a sigh of relief, and noticed that the world looked and sounded … different to him. He then understood that his organic half had all but shut down and it was his artificial half that was doing all the work. He could barely see with his real eye and his real ear was practically deaf. It was then that a recovery subroutine kicked in and his organic body was flooded with nutrients and stimulants. He sat still as the world slowly started to look the way he expected.

"Man, that was close … we almost bought the farm ourselves." He whispered to himself.

Raptor began to cough, and Cyborg approached her. She opened her eyes and stared at Cyborg, blinking repeatedly and looking rather perplexed.

"I'm not dead, am I?"

Cyborg smiled.

"No little lady, you're very alive."

She rubbed her head and moaned. Then her eyes popped open wide.

"Gar? Is Gar OK?"

"The grass stain is fine, they all are, they just need to rest, like you do. So get some sleep. Doctor's orders." He smiled.

"Thank Azar …" She replied as she drifted back into unconsciousness.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The following morning everyone, including Raptor, was healthy enough to be discharged from the infirmary, but Cyborg reminded them that they were in no shape to take on any missions and he personally informed the Mayor that the Titans would be out of commission for a few days.

Cyborg offered to prepare breakfast for everyone that morning, which they enthusiastically agreed to accept. Everyone that is, except for Raven, who excused herself, saying she needed to be alone for a while.

The first platter was piled with pancakes and as Beast Boy helped himself to a tall stack, Raptor looked around the room, as if looking for something.

"What happened to Terra?"

"I gave her another shot of inhibitol and tossed her sorry butt into one of our cells. She ain't going anywhere." Cyborg replied.

"She must be hungry." Beast Boy remarked. "I'll take her some food."

After piling a plate with some pancakes, eggs and hash browns he took off.

Robin shook his head.

"After all that she did, he still worries about her … go figure."

"He has a big heart." Raptor remarked. "It's why I feel in love with him."

Cyborg chuckled.

"Speaking of hearts … what did it feel like to be dead?"

Her demeanor changed as she took on a very serious tone.

"I could hear his voice … he was calling me. I was following his voice, but I couldn't reach him. Now I know why I couldn't find Gar … I had yet to pass the point of no return."

"How close were you to your beloved?" Starfire asked.

"Very close, a few more minutes and I would have been reunited with him."

Starfire placed a hand on the gray girl's hand.

"Please forgive us Raptor, for we did not know."

She shook her head.

"It's OK, when the life force entered my body Gar called out to me and said it wasn't time yet."

Raptor began to sob.

"I'm sorry … I'm acting like a fool."

"No, you are not. Your heart aches for your beloved."

She nodded.

"When I heard his voice … I was just so happy. As the life force pulled me away he said he would wait for me."

Unable to contain herself, Raptor began to weep. Starfire wrapped her arms around her and drew her into a hug.

"I am in your debt, Raptor, for by your selfless act you saved my dear friend, Garfield."

The gray sorceress continued to weep.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven entered her room and locked the door. The curtains were closed and she paced around the dark room for at least ten minutes, occasionally stopping to look at a memento of her relationship with Beast Boy: a portrait of them together, a knick knack he gave her, etc. She walked into the closet they now shared and held one of his Doom Patrol costumes, feeling its texture between her fingers.

She emerged from the closet and saw the four poster bed they now shared. She recalled the night a few months earlier when they first consummated the love they shared. She never told him, but had been scared that night, afraid, no, terrified that she might lose control of her emotions and along with them her powers.

At the time she didn't realize it, but it was on that night that Rage broke free. The demonic emotion covered her tracks, so well in fact that Raven never had a clue until Rage kicked Raven out of her own body.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and pondered all that had happened. After killing Beast Boy something snapped in Rage. It was as if she had been broken and she submitted herself without question and Raven tossed her back into her mental dungeon, this time more fortified than ever.

But the question remained, would it be good enough this time? Or would Rage escape again? She knew that Rage was very fond of Garfield, in fact she loved him. How could she not love him? Rage, with all her warts, was part of Raven.

And that was the problem. Rage was … Rage. She could easily lose control and as last night proved if she lost control, which was in her very nature, she could murder Gar, even if she would later regret it.

Raven had to do something about this, and as far as she knew there was only one optiono. She rose from the bed and stepped into the closet. After a few minutes she emerged and had changed out of her signature costume.

She was now wearing a brown habit and she tied a belt that was merely a cord around her waist. She raised the hood and turned to a full length mirror.

And saw a monk of Azarath in the reflection.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Terra sat unhappily on the cot in her cell, staring at the floor, pondering everything that had happened in the past few days. She was overwhelmed with a sense of self loathing. She knew that because of her selfish action that Raptor had somehow died in Raven's mind and that Beast Boy might also be dead, poisoned by Rage's venom.

She heard the sound of the cell block's heavily armored door opening and looked away. It was probably Robin or Cyborg coming to tell her the grim news: that Beast Boy was dead and it was all her fault.

"Terra? I brought you some breakfast."

The geomancer fell off the bed when she heard his voice. She leapt to her feet and ran to him. Having forgotten it was there she hit the force field wall and bounced of off it, getting zapped in the process. She quickly recovered and stood up, tears welling in her eyes.

"Beast Boy! You aren't dead, oh thank God!"

She paused as he slipped her plate to her through a small slot that opened in the force field. She hadn't eaten since swapping bodies and was famished.

"I'm so sorry Beast Boy, please forgive me! I never thought it would turn out the way it did."

Beast Boy sat down on a chair outside her cell.

"You'd better eat before it gets cold."

Terra nodded and quickly wolfed down the heaping plate of food. Once she was done she locked eyes with the green Titan. He was no longer the scrawny kid she fell in love with. He was now a man, which she knew well as she still remembered the night she had sex with him while she occupied Raven's body. It was still a strange memory for her as Rage forced her to experience physical intimacy with him. Oddly enough, the memory was not as traumatic as it used to be, and Terra suddenly realized that she was aroused by him. She shook the thought and feeling away,

"Why, Terra, why did you do it?"

She looked away from him, fighting back the tears.

"Because I'm an idiot, I thought I could win you back."

Beast Boy shook his head in dismay.

"Terra … you need help."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

Beast Boy got up from his chair.

"Terra, if you check into a psychiatric hospital on your own … I won't press any kidnapping charges against you."

"What?"

"Terra, you have a criminal record. You could be sent to prison for years … and I don't want that. There's a really good psychiatrist at McKee Mental Health, he could help you Terra."

He paused.

"I know why you do this Terra. You do it because you're afraid … Dr. Ashe can help you Terra."

"You're not kidding BB? Don't you think I belong in jail?"

He shook his head.

"No, I don't. I want you to be happy Terra, I really do."

She frowned.

"But I can't have you …."

"No, you can't … I'm sorry. Dr. Ashe can also help you move on Terra, I really think that you need to do that … I know you can Terra … I believe in you."

Beast Boy's communicator chirped. He flipped it open and saw that it was Raven.

"Gar, would you come to our room?"

"Sure thing babe, I'm on my way."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Beast Boy walked down the hallway until he was in front of the door. Even though they had been sharing the room for over a year the sign on the door still said "Raven". He punched in the code and the door slid open. As he entered the room he saw a hooded figure wearing a brown habit, who was staring out the window, facing away from him.

"Raven?"

The shrouded figure turned around and lowered her hood. Beast Boy chuckled.

"What's with the costume Rae? Halloween is already over."

"Gar … we need to talk."

He froze upon hearing the four dreaded words.

"Rae, whatever I did, I'm sorry." He stammered.

She shook her head.

"You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong … but I'm afraid that I have some bad news."

Beast Boy gulped and his mind began to race. It couldn't be, he reasoned, it had to be something else.

"I'm afraid that I'm backing out of our engagement."

"WHAT!"

"I'm sorry Gar, I really am."

"B-but why?" He stammered.

"Gar … you shouldn't marry me … I'm a demon, a monster. I almost murdered you when I lost control of Rage. You deserve better than that."

"We can work on that Rae, and you're not a monster …."

"No, Gar, you're wrong, marrying me is the worst thing you could ever do."

"Shouldn't that be for me to decide?"

"No, because you don't understand what's at stake Gar. You have no idea of who I really am…"

She sighed as she took a long pause while Beast Boy stared at her, completely dumbfounded.

"I'm leaving for Azarath this afternoon."

"Azarath?"

"Yes, I'm going to the monastery, I'm going to take my vows and become a nun."

"No way! Why?"

"I need to spend the rest of my life in meditation … alone. It's the only way to ensure that I won't hurt others, that I won't hurt you ... again."

Beast Boy said nothing while he fought back his tears. He then began to sob.

"I thought you loved me."

"I do, more than life itself."

"Then don't leave."

Raven turned away from him and once again stared out the window.

"Believe me Gar, this isn't easy … I don't want to leave you … I want to marry you."

"THEN STAY, DAMMIT!"

"I can't Gar. There's something … wrong with me …"

She broke down, began to cry and ran to him. They embraced while he stroked her head.

"Oh Gar, why am I the way I am?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

So I brought Raptor back from the dead. But now there's another cliffhanger!

So what will happen? Will Raven leave for Azarath forever? If she does, what will happen to Beast Boy? Will he restart a relationship with Raptor or … do I dare say it … with Terra?

Stay tuned. And thanks for the reviews. They are always appreciated.

No mailbag, since I want to post this before it gets too late tonight.


	29. Robin's Gambit

The sounds of footsteps echoed down the long hallway, approaching each other, growing louder and louder until the two women met in front of Raven's door.

Starfire tried to read Raptor's face. She wasn't as inscrutable as Raven, and while Starfire could see that the gray sorceress was as confused as she was she still felt perturbed. While she had grown to accept Raptor there were times when she still found Raven's interdimensional twin to be unsettling, not because they were alike, but rather because they were different. For one thing, Raptor did not speak in a monotone as Raven did. But that was only the tip of the iceberg.

But this was not the time to worry about that.

"Did she tell you why she wants to see us?"

Starfire shook her head.

"All she said was that she wanted to see me at 1:00 PM in her room."

"Same here." Raptor replied. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"As do I. Half an hour ago I saw Beast Boy running to his room and he looked as if he was crying. When I asked him if he was the OK he ignored me and ran even faster. He locked his door and would not answer it."

Raptor heaved an impatient sigh.

"I love Raven, she's the sister I never had … but she can be an ass sometimes. She probably did something stupid and hurt Gar's feelings and now because she's so effing clueless she needs our advice on how to patch things up with him."

Starfire tapped her fingers together.

"I see, she needs the 'girl talk'. And what is this 'effing' you speak of?"

Raptor snorted derisively.

"More like the 'clueless bitch talk', and as far as what 'effing" means, you don't want to know. It doesn't go with your Hello Kitty image."

"What do you mean by my image? I do not understand."

"Never mind."

Raptor reached out and knocked on Raven's door.

"It's open."

The door slid open and the two women entered the dark room. The curtains were closed and the room was lit by a single candle, which cast its amber glow with long shadows dancing along the walls. Starfire's eyes adjusted immediately to the relative darkness and she spotted Raven standing in a corner, facing away from them. A chill went down her spine as the scene somewhat reminded her of when she encountered Raven in the nightmarish future, a dystopian time when Raven fell into dementia.

"Raven, what are you wearing? Your outfit is strange." The princess asked.

Raptor cursed under her breath as her eyes had yet to adapt to the darkness. She approached Raven and as her vision improved she gasped.

"Raven, why are you dressed like that?"

Raven turned around and quietly lit a few more candles. She then replied to the question.

"I am going to become a nun."

"Raven, I am confused, are you saying that you are going become nothing, what do you mean by none? None what?"

In a voice dripping in anger, Raptor replied.

"What she means Starfire is that she is going to become a monk, a nun is a female monk. What Raven is saying that she just dumped Gar and she's going to return to Azarath where she intends to spend the rest of her life, meditating in the cloister."

Starfire was rendered speechless for a moment, until she exploded in anger, shaking her clenched fist.

"Raven! Is this true!"

"Yes, it is."

"But why? Do you not love your Garfield?"

"Starfire, you know just how much I love him. It is because I love him so much that I have to leave."

Raptor rolled her eyes.

"Oh please."

Raven frowned at her twin.

"You know what happened. I almost killed him … actually … I did kill him."

"That was Rage …"

"You know better than to say that, Raptor. I am Rage; she is as much a part of me as my heart or my lungs. She can't be extricated from me ... he's yours Raptor … you can have him."

Raptor slapped Raven across her face.

"You frakking coward! You're gonna give up on him just like that. And how is he gonna feel, or do you just think that I'm a replacement for you?"

"You were once."

"Well, I wasn't." Raptor began to cry. "And he eventually realized that. And what about me? Do you really think Beast Boy is a substitute for my Gar? And don't you dare remind me of how I behaved back when you brought him back to me. I know I'm a bitch Raven …"

Raptor fell to her knees and wept.

"Do you really think that it will be that easy Raven?"

Raven turned away from her visitors.

"Of course not, but I do think that you will eventually find comfort in each other."

Raptor choked back her sobs.

"You're a real piece of work, Raven. You don't deserve him."

"Do you think I am unaware of that?"

Raptor rose to her feet.

"Forget it Raven, I'm not going to help absolve your conscience of this. You're on your own; I'll have no part in this!"

Starfire continued to look perplexed.

"Raven, I do not understand. You can be stronger and control the Rage, I know you can."

Raven shook her head.

"No Starfire, it's too risky."

"But Raven, we all have challenges. You know of mine …"

Raven exploded.

"You don't get it, you just don't get it! This is much worse than not having a human vagina, Starfire! Just because you and Robin found a way around that doesn't mean I can circumvent my problem!"

Raven paused and looked at her alien friend in the eyes.

"I'm a monster! Can't you see or accept that! I'm demon spawn! I'm so evil that I will eventually kill him and there's no way I can prevent that."

Tears began to drip down the Tamaranian's face. Before Starfire could reply Raptor grabbed her by the wrist.

"Let's go, Starfire. There's nothing left to discuss."

Raven turned back to her corner as her visitors departed. As soon as the doors closed behind them Raptor whipped out her communicator.

"Robin, Cyborg … meet me in my room … yes, this important."

"Very important."

_**-( scene break )-**_

It was almost 2 PM and Raven was still standing in the corner, trying to calm herself as she whispered her mantra over and over. Unfortunately it wasn't working. The images were stuck in her mind. Rage, in the form of Basilisk, sinking her poisonous fangs into The Beast, who shriveled back into Beast Boy's form. Then it was his face, first incredulous upon hearing her news and then wracked in pain as he begged her to reconsider. Then it was Starfire's face, troubled and sad, crying upon hearing the news. And hovering above it all was Raptor's disapproving scowl.

Of course Raven understood her disapproval. Raptor would give anything to have her Garfield return and to see Raven spurn Beast Boy and announce that she was leaving forever, it was no small wonder that she wasn't even angrier.

A knock was heard on the door. I was 2PM on the dot. Robin was punctual, as always.

"Come in."

Robin and Cyborg silently entered the room. Both looked around uneasily as they could count with the fingers on a single hand the number of times they had ever entered Raven's abode.

"I suppose that Starfire has already told you…"

"She has Raven. But why?" Robin replied.

"Isn't it self evident?"

"No, it's not!" He snapped at her. "Raven, this is not like you, you aren't the kind who gives up."

Raven turned around and faced her male teammates.

"Then you have a very selective memory. Have you forgotten how I gave up and turned the world over to my father?"

"And have you forgotten how you turned around and defeated the undefeatable Trigon the Terrible?"

"That was luck."

"I disagree little lady, you never give yourself the credit you deserve."

"Cyborg's right, and besides the team wouldn't be the same without you."

"The team's days are numbered Robin. It's inevitable that we will go our separate ways, I'm just the first one to leave."

"And that includes dumping the Grass Stain? Do you have any idea of how broken his heart is? I was with him before coming here. Do you have any idea of what you did to him?"

Raven looked up at Cyborg's tall figure.

"Yes Victor, I'm painfully aware of how much I hurt him. Please don't think that this was easy for me. I feel as if part of me was ripped away. But I'm doing this for his wellbeing. I know he will be in pain for a long time, but eventually he will recover and he will find someone else to love, someone who isn't a monster like me."

Cyborg sighed.

"Now that you mention it, just before I left him he said something about having forgiven Terra, that he wouldn't press charges against her. I think he was going back down to the cell block to see her."

Raven's eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

"C'mon Raven, she was his first crush. I know he says that they're over, but, well, given this new set of circumstances … I wouldn't be surprised if they … well … got closer."

Robin interrupted.

"He made a deal with her. She's going to McKee for psychiatric evaluation and treatment … I guess now she has a big incentive to get a clean bill of mental health. I was going to release her To McKee tomorrow morning."

By this point Raven was in a near panic.

"No! Not her!"

Robin shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not too crazy about her either, but if you leave we really don't have any say on who Beast Boy ends up with. It's really none of our business who he …"

Before Robin could finish Raven phased into the floor and disappeared.

"I hope she doesn't kill Terra." Cyborg remarked.

"I hope Terra doesn't say something stupid." Robin replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Terra absentmindedly watched the TV in her cell, surfing the channels listlessly from her bed when she heard it, the unmistakable hum of Raven's dark energy. She shut off the TV and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed she turned to face her visitor. As soon as she saw Raven she burst out laughing.

"So that's your monk outfit? I have to say, Raven, your taste in clothes has improved."

Raven approached the force field that kept Terra imprisoned in her cell.

"So he has been here."

Terra leaned back and grinned,

"You bet he has. Nice job breaking his heart, Raven."

"So it's true then, he's not going to press charges against you?"

Terra's grinned widened.

"Correct again and thanks to you, he's going to visit me every day."

Terra leaned forward before continuing.

"Someone has to console him; it might as well be me."

Raven glared at her.

"I'll talk to Robin, I'll tell him to forbid it!"

"BB's a big boy now Raven, he can visit whomever he wants … and he wants to visit me … which isn't surprising at all."

"You stay away from him Terra, I'm warning you!"

Terra reclined on her bunk, stretching lazily as she continued to smile.

"Thank you Raven, I really owe you one. You handed him to me on a silver platter. I'll be a model patient at the hospital, they'll discharge me in 2 months, 3 months tops and after that, he's aaaalllll mine."

Raven said nothing, but Terra could see the fury grow in her eyes.

"It's payback time Raven, for all you've done to me. Every night when you meditate in your convent just remember I'll be making love with him. In his moments of ecstasy he'll scream my name instead of yours. I'll bear his children and I'll be Mrs. Terra Logan."

Terra saw that Raven's jaw was beginning to tremble.

"Oooh, does that make you unhappy, Rae? Well guess what? This is the real world, and in the real world cute blonds win and creepy witches lose. I won Raven, so live with that for the rest of your life while you meditate, chant, bake fruit cakes or whatever it is you'll do in that monastery … but don't worry Raven, I guarantee that he'll be happy, happier than you could ever make him."

Without saying a word Raven turned around and marched out of the cell block and the large titanium alloy doors slammed shut behind her. Terra sat down on the edge of her bed, her smile was now absent. Then, as if on cue, a black hemisphere rose out of the ground. As it evaporated it revealed 4 figures: Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Raptor.

"So, do I win an Oscar for my performance?" She asked.

"That depends on what Raven does next." Robin replied.

"Which isn't part of our deal, Robin."

Robin frowned.

"Agreed, a deal is a deal, you're free to go Terra."

Robin reluctantly shut down the force field and the geomancer emerged from her cell. She stopped in front of Robin and extended her hand with her palm facing upward.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Boy Wonder?"

Robin handed her an envelope stuffed with $100 bills. Terra quickly counted them and nodded her satisfaction.

"And you won't forget the remainder of your deal." He growled.

"Yes, I'm to leave Jump City and never return."

"C'mon Terra, I'm taking you to the airport, you're leaving today." Cyborg grunted.

Terra followed the tin man out of the cell block, and paused before turning around.

"Good luck, guys … you're gonna need it."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven ran back to her room in a full blown panic. She knew that Terra was right; there was nothing she could do to keep her away from Garfield once she left. For a brief moment she considered returning to the cell block and murdering the blond troublemaker but shook that thought away as she knew that was Rage who was making her feel that way.

She locked her door behind her and began to pace frantically around her room. As she did she almost tripped over a pair of his shoes he left on the floor. This was something that was normally a source of irritation for her but as she picked them up it hit her … she couldn't live without him. Going to the monastery was no longer an option.

_What am I going to do?_

She sat down on the edge of her bed and began to cry.

She almost didn't hear it over her sobs, but hear it she did. Someone was calling her name. She stopped crying and scanned the room with her empathic senses and verified that she was indeed alone,

"Raven"

This time there was no doubt in her mind, someone was calling her. She looked in the direction where she heard the voice come from and she saw it: her meditation mirror.

_I suppose it can't hurt to try._

Raven picked up the mirror and began to chant her mantra. As expected she found herself in Nevermore, what she did not expect was to find herself standing in front of Rage's cell. The red caped emotion was shackled and greeted her master with a four eyed glare. Raven also saw that other emotions were gathered in front of the cell as well: Brave, Love, and Happy to name a few.

"OK, what's going on here?"

Wisdom was also present. While not an emotion she was a prominent part of Raven's psyche.

"We aren't going to lose Garfield, Raven." Wisdom announced.

"Damn straight we won't! I'll eat Gar's tofu surprise for a year before letting Terra have him!" Brave crowed.

Raven frowned as she pointed at Rage.

"And what about her?"

Rage chortled.

"You have a good point Raven. If anyone expects me to 'be nice' they're gonna be disappointed, after all it isn't exactly in my nature to behave."

Raven crossed her arms.

"Then it's pointless. Terra's right, she won."

"Like Trigon she did!" Rage roared as she pulled at her chains; shaking the room in the process.

"We're at an impasse; there is no way to solve this." Raven interjected.

"Actually, you're wrong Raven, we have a plan."

"You mean I have a plan, but I don't know it?"

"Yes, you do at a subconscious level, that is why you are here."

Raven skeptically shook her head.

"OK, let's hear this hare brained scheme of mine."

"It's actually quite simple Raven, all it will take is sex. Lots of sex."

"WHAT! Am I brain dead? We all know what sex does to me! It sets her loose."

"Only because we get so little of it, stupid!" Rage yelled at her.

Raven glared at her.

"So you're saying that the answer to our dilemma are daily doses of 'angry sex'?"

Rage grinned.

"Yeah, and lots of it, preferably more than once a day,"

"This is ridiculous. How do we know that Gar even likes that kind of physical intimacy?"

"I know from firsthand experience that he does."

Raven accessed the memory from the night when Rage and Terra controlled her body, and shuddered. Rage was right, Gar loved it.

Wisdom once again piped up.

"Actually Raven, think about it. Our beloved is half animal and this is the perfect outlet for Rage to expend her fury. It's a perfect match."

"What if she hurts him?"

"It won't be anything our blue healing light can't fix. Plus Gar is a lot tougher than he looks."

Raven suddenly noticed that she was surrounded by a rainbow of emotions. Only fear and doubt were absent. Even Timid, in her gray cloak was present.

"I presume that this means I've made up my mind?"

"You are correct Raven." Wisdom affirmed.

"So what do I do now?"

"We go and claim his as ours!" Brave shouted.

"Now?"

"Yes, now!" Rage shouted. "We want our man right now!"

Raven felt her body temperature begin to rise.

"I don't know about this." She stammered.

"Don't fight it Raven, it'll be OK, you'll see." Wisdom comforted her.

And Raven did something she rarely ever did: she let herself go. She snapped back to reality in her room and found herself breathing quickly, almost hyperventilating.

_I guess it's now or never._

Raven phased into the floor and reappeared in Garfield's room. He was lying face down on his bed but turned when he heard the telltale hum of her dark energy,

"Rae?" He asked as he stood up. "I thought you already left for Azarath."

"I'm not going anywhere, Gar."

Raven's eyes split into 2 crimson red pairs. She extended her right hand and enveloped Beast Boy in her dark energy, shredding his clothes to bits and their remains fell to the floor like snowflakes, leaving him standing stark naked. She then extended her arms to her sides and her brown habit was also destroyed, leaving her equally naked. She stepped up to him and pushed him back and he fell on to the bed.

"Garfield, will you be mine?"

He stared back at the gray beauty who stood before him.

"Oh baby, I'm yours!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Beast Boy were married the following afternoon in a private ceremony at the county courthouse.

_**-( scene break )-**_

OK , one more chapter, and we're done!

Thanks to all who have followed this story,.


	30. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

_Almost one year later._

Three solitary figures made their way down the paved pathway. They were dressed warmly as it was unseasonably cold for a late autumn Jump City afternoon. The cloud cover overhead was dark and ominous looking and the threat of a downpour was imminent, not that it deterred the three individuals who picked up the pace and began to walk faster, knowing that time was not on their side.

As they approached their destination a gust of wind blew, sending brown and desiccated leaves flying from the nearby tress, which now stood naked as they had fully shed their foliage. The wind, combined with the humidity and the near freezing temperatures, cut like a knife through the coat the lone male in the trio was wearing, and he shivered while the heavy capes his two companions wore fluttered.

"Are you OK, Gar?" Raven asked him.

"I'm fine, you know me, I hate the cold. Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm also fine. It's a good thing Raptor has a spare Winter costume I could borrow, I wouldn't want to be standing in my bare legs in this weather.

The Logans almost didn't notice that Raptor had suddenly stopped. Their trek was complete. They watched silently as the blue and black clad demoness gently dropped to her knees in front of a stone marker and delicately traced her index finger over its inscription while she stared at it stoically, betraying no emotion. Beast Boy approached and read the epitaph:

_Garfield Mark Logan_

_Teammate, soul mate, spouse, lover and friend._

_I will never forget you._

Beast Boy shivered again, but this time not from the cold. He stepped back and Raven kneeled next to her twin, gently placing a violet rose on the marker. Raptor turned and embraced her. Raven returned the hug and the two twins remained that way for several minutes while Raptor sobbed quietly and Raven consoled her, gently stroking her head. Finally they released each other and before they stood up Raven gently pecked her on the cheek. Raptor quickly regained her composure.

"Thanks for coming, I wasn't sure how I would cope with today, being the anniversary of his death."

Beast Boy also hugged and kissed his friend and former lover. After releasing her he gazed back at the simple marker.

"I have to admit, seeing my name there just makes this feel … weird … you'd think I'd be used to the idea of parallel universes, but this, I don't know how to deal with it …"

He was interrupted as heavy raindrops began to fall and the light drizzle soon became a downpour. Raven raised her arms and a large dome formed over them, shielding them from the rain.

"Let's go home." Raptor murmured as she raised her own arms and teleported them back to Titans Tower.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The common room was quiet as Terra and the rest of the team were away on a routine mission. The geomancer gave Raptor the day off since it was the anniversary of Garfield's death plus Raven and Beast Boy came to see her. Raptor's teleportation sphere rose out of the floor and vanished, leaving the 3 off duty Titans behind. The rain and wind outside were pounding on the windows and they were glad to be back "home", even if wasn't really home as the common room had a square shaped couch. Beast Boy volunteered to make some tea for the ladies and hustled off into the kitchen.

As Raven had predicted a year earlier, her team was dissolved. Just two weeks after the Logan's sudden wedding Robin changed his hero persona to Nightwing and just a two months later he and Starfire departed to Bludhaven. Cyborg assumed the leadership role in the team and recruited Jinx and Kid Flash, who were now also married, to backfill for the departed Graysons. That arrangement only lasted a single month, and the Wests informed Cyborg that they were returning to Central City.

Other Honorary Titans came and went but after a few weeks it became obvious that no one was going to be able to fill the empty shoes left behind by Nightwing and Starfire. Cyborg and the Logans went on a mountain retreat, where they pondered the future of the team. It was a difficult task, but in the end they came to the only logical conclusion: it was time to pass the Tower and the team name to a new generation of adolescent heroes, which were provided by the Justice League: Cassie Sandsmark (Wonder Girl), Connor Kent (Superboy), Tim Drake (the new Robin), Bart Allen (The new Kid Flash) and M'gann M'orzz (Miss Martian). After a brief training period the new Teen Titans selected Wonder Girl as their leader and the three original Titans moved out of the Tower and left Jump City behind.

Cyborg returned to Metropolis after accepting a job at STAR labs. The Logans took a leisurely 2 month trip in Europe before settling down in Budapest, where Raven opened a store called "Azarathia" and the two hung up the spandex while Beast Boy worked on mastering Hungarian and working on an online college while helping his wife run the store, which involved frequent field trips to strange places where they would procure the strange wares Raven sole in her store.

The superhero retirement didn't last long for them as the European Union central government frequently asked for their assistance, at first only as consultants but that eventually expanded into field missions as the local superheroes weren't quite up to the tasks at times. It didn't help that the Justice League would pilfer the most talented European metahumans either.

It was at this time that they received an invitation from Raptor to visit during the anniversary of Garfield's death. It was also the first time in almost 4 months since they set foot in Titans Tower, even if it was the Tower that Terra's team lived in.

Beast Boy returned with the tea, plus a hot chocolate he made for himself, along with some cookies. He placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down next to his wife, who thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

"So, how are you guys doing? Still in blissful wedlock, I hope."

"We are, it's hard to believe that it's been almost year." Raven replied between sips of her tea.

"It's even harder to believe that you aren't Titans anymore. At least you haven't given up the hero business."

"It hasn't been for a lack of trying. Gar thought that if we charged them for our help the EU would find someone else."

"Fat chance." He added. "When we told them that we were raising our fee to 10 million Euros per mission, they didn't even bat an eye. We've been so busy that we had to close the store, there's no time to run it."

"You're charging to do super hero work?" Raptor asked in mock disgust. "Why didn't I ever think of that?"

Raven rolled her eyes.

"We all know that while they don't charge to serve on missions, the Titans get generous stipends from the city, state and federal government. The bills don't pay themselves after all."

Raptor laughed.

"Oh Raven, you're so easy to get all worked up … I've missed that."

"We missed you too, sister."

Beast Boy snickered, as he loved watching the two Ravens bicker with each other.

"So what's new in your world?" He asked.

Raptor sat back, with a mildly pleased smile on her face.

"As you already know, we helped our version of Titans East get off the ground. They are the same guys as your Titans East, and of course they are older, the same age as your guys are now."

"It's about time you guys spread some Titans goodness around the world."

"That we did Gar, but there's more …"

She paused as her smile widened.

"I've started to date one of them."

"Really? Sister, that's wonderful! Who is it?"

"Is it Bumblebee?" Beast Boy snickered.

Raptor shook her head as she continued to smile.

"Gar, Gar if anyone should know that I don't swing that way, it's you."

"Aw, you're no fun, so who is it?"

"Please say it's not Speedy, I can't stand him." Raven retorted.

"It's not Speedy."

"One of the twins then?" Beast Boy asked. "Hold old are they now, 16?"

"17, she corrected him. I know, they're still jail bait … but there are two of them!" Raptor replied with a hint of mischief in her voice. "Isn't that just … yummy!"

The changeling's eyes widened.

"Dude! That is so wrong, on so many levels! You can't be serious!"

Raptor burst out laughing,

"Oh Gar, you're so gullible!"

She continued laughing,

"It's not them; they already have girlfriends, anyway."

A big smile appeared on Raven usually emotionless face.

"So it's Aqualad, isn't it?"

"It is." Raptor grinned. "So what do you think?"

Beast Boy crossed his arms.

"Raven thinks he's handsome." He snorted.

"He is handsome … and so are you … my jealous mate."

Beast Boy wasn't having any of it.

"He's a stuck up pretty boy … and what's worse … he knows he is."

"That's not true Gar." Raven replied.

"Oh come on Rae, when we first met him you and Star got all googly eyed over him, he looked so smug."

"Can you blame him?" Raptor smirked. "He is a hunk."

Beast Boy got up and stomped off to the kitchen.

"Oh Gar, come back! I was just teasing you!" The scar faced sorceress called out.

"I'm gonna make more hot chocolate!" He shouted back from the kitchen.

"Wow, I guess I hit a nerve. Uh Raven … I asked Garth to come by later to meet you guys … maybe I should call that off."

"Don't, Gar needs to get over Aqualad … don't worry … I'll have a chat with him later."

"You mean while you bang him …"

Raptor snickered.

"Whoever said that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach … doesn't know anything about men."

Raven frowned at her twin.

"Must it always be about sex with you?"

"So was I wrong about that? Or will you guys really just take a nap later?"

"That's irrelevant."

"Sure it is, sister."

Raven sighed, while shaking her head.

"Well, dear sister, since you are so obsessed with sex, I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

"Yes, a surprise, and no, we didn't bring you any kinky underwear from Victoria's Secret."

"I still can't believe we don't have that here … it's so unfair."

"I'm sure it is. Anyway, Gar gave me permission to tell you myself, so I will."

"You asked him for permission? I'm disappointed, Raven!"

"Could you please be serious, for just a moment? This is … important."

Raptor immediately became serious.

"Alright sister, what is this big surprise you want to give me?"

Raven took Raptor's right hand and placed it on her abdomen.

"Huh?"

"Reach out with your empathic senses." Raven instructed her.

Raptor closed her eyes and focused. She then jerked back, and was slack jawed.

"Raven! I thought it was impossible!"

"So did we. The scientists at STAR labs say that we basically hit the jackpot. It turns out that Gar's sperm can morph its genetic structure if it's incompatible with the ova. The thing is that it happens randomly so the chances of matching my DNA structure are infinitesimally small. The probability of a random match was 1 in 100 million."

Raptor caught her breath.

"So … so you really are pregnant? You're not joking?"

"You sensed the baby, it's not a joke."

Raptor turned to the kitchen and yelled.

"GAR! Forget about that hot chocolate and get your ass over here, you green stud! I want to kiss you!"

The three began to celebrate, and were joined by Terra and the rest of the Titans when they returned upon completing their mission.

The End

_**-( scene break )-**_

And that's all folks!

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

As for or what comes next, I think I wiil get back to 8 Years later and finish it.


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